


PLAYGROUND

by Newspaper



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: "Howdy i'm asriel and I'll be your guide for today!", :D, Adult Asriel Dreemurr, Adult Frisk, Aged-Up Frisk (Undertale), Asriel the imaginary friend, Blood and Gore, Chara Being An Asshole, Chara Is Dead, Chara is evil, Cute Flowey, Emotional Flowey, Evil Chara, F/M, Feels like that might happen soonish, Flowey Fan Club, Flowey knows how to also hotwire cars, Flowey's freedom, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Frisk Has Issues, Frisk and Chara share a body, Frisk and Chara the promise keepers, Frisk is over 21 but under 30 years old, Frisk on How To Be A Strict Parent, Frisk the fatherly type, Frisk the motherly type, Gaster the void drifter, Gaster who?, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Lemon, Lime, M/M, Maybe Yandere, Mild Gore, Older Asriel Dreemurr, Older Frisk, Or it might be fluffy, Other, PROBABLY LOTS OF TENTACLE BANGING, Pacifist Frisk, Rainbow Soul, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is over 21 but under 30 years old, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, SELECTIVELY GENOCIDAL FRISK, Sans is Frisk's rock, Sans trusts in Frisk to an extent, Smut, Soul Sharing, Soul giving, Sucks to suck, Tentacles, The events of Undertale occurred probably when Frisk was under 10 years old, Tsundere Flowey, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Violence, Yandere, Yandere Flowey, also has a tentacle fetish, asriel as a tour guide through the soul, blue soul - Freeform, daddy gaster, desperate gaster, father gaster, flowey has DEEP ROOTED feelings, flowey in love, its official that reader is a weeb, lemon and lime, not slow burn, not slow burn at all, okay i'll stop, sobs over asriel, something i should have mentioned forever ago, soul gifting, soul transference, the blue soul, who fucking knows, your best friend integrity, your best friend the blue soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-07-12 03:42:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 36
Words: 222,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7084276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newspaper/pseuds/Newspaper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your study on the monster origins leads you to seeking out ways of venturing into the underground. Now that they roam the earth side by side with humans, it’s your job to research their history and find out more about them. Your friend, colleague, and the ambassador of the monsters, Frisk, however refuses to help you… so once mistakes have been made, you find yourself having to count on a brand new friend to return to the surface.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Were Warned

**Author's Note:**

> > Edited Work Title for easier finding (the spaces between the letters probably didn't help.)
> 
> >Even though there are other characters tagged, this story mainly revolves around Flowey x Reader(For literally 99.9% of the story) so if you don't like don't read.  
> >This story may contain lime and lemon. Yes, we said that back in the day in original fanfics-- if you do not know what that means then do your research.  
> >This is a story driven fanfic, not a groin driven one(maybe).  
> >I try to keep the reader(you) as gender-neutral as possible as well as Frisk.
> 
> And a more serious note:  
> >To me Flowey is NOT A CHILD and especially is not one in this story(I'm not into that sorta thing and if you are escort yourself to the local jail). At this point if you think of Flowey as a child and cannot age them up or disassociate them with another [spoiler] character then you probably don’t want to read this. Any hate comments or bashing will be deleted. I always appreciate critiques but never down right hate.

# P  L  A  Y GROUND

* * *

###  **Chapter One:** ** _You Were Warned_**

The moment you read the textbooks, and studied the websites on monsterkind and their history, was the moment you knew where your future would take you.

 ****Ever since you were younger you always had a hint of hope that you would manage to find someone who was unique, different, unlike regular human beings. Even at such a young age where you didn’t get to meet a lot of people with different backgrounds and ideas, you were simply bored of day to day life. There was a strange yet scarcely thin line between whether monsters were apart of myth and legend, or whether they were actually real and the human history had been true. It was strange from the fact that the stories told about a group of magicians sealing the monsters away at the base of Mount Ebott… and yet there had been no known humans to use such ‘magic’ ever since.

 

So whether it were all true or false was beyond yourself, but you chose to believe it was all real.

When you were little you went through many teachers and schools, half of said instructors informed your class of them simply being stories to keep children from wandering off, the other half said they were far too real for any actual comprehension. You remembered your parents marching to the school to tell teachers to keep their ‘magical stories’ out of your head, and you wished you were allowed to use your own voice.

 ****It didn’t help that as you grew up children began missing. You remember there used to be a child you played with when the two of you were fairly small, and one day they simply vanished. You moved on from trying to hunt them down, after all, no one who vanishes winds up being found again, much to your dismay…

That was until another event happened that proved no child would ever get lost again.

There was a special day in your childhood as you grew up, a day when another child _had_ been found. Not only that, but it was a day that the child found their way out and brought a few friends along with. You were definitely proud to be alive the day that said child had emerged from having been lost for more than a month, and with a rather large parade of MONSTERS behind them. They all walked together, rather merrily and content, most of them grinning so widely that it was somewhat frightening and yet heartwarming all at the same time. The supposed _war_ had been more than a decade or two ago, so while no one considered their dangers or if everyone would get along, you could imagine some of the persons simply being afraid. Considering some of the monsters that were headed to your town were ghosts, waddling eyeballs, and singing fish.

 ****The child who came from the underground was Frisk, and it was said that they chose the role of being the monsters permanent ambassador for as long as they remained. Which, you hoped and was assumed, would be for a very long time.

 ****As you aged, you befriended Frisk and many of the monsters that came to the surface with them. You never did realize the little things in life until a talking skeleton said _“WOWIE! Is this grass? I LOVE GRASS!”_

 ****With you and Frisk’s interest in the studies and histories of monsterkind, you two went to school together to earn your degrees and become official historians and researchers. Frisk always claimed they were done with adventuring, but you were always ready for a new place to explore; which lead to your focus on archaeology, and their focus on… well, book keeping. Similar to their caretaker, Toriel. Toriel was always more than eager to assist the two of you in your work, as well as feed you the amazing pleasures of butterscotch cinnamon pie(and the displeasures of snail pie, which you and Frisk agreed was _not_ your favorite.)

Your past was full of adventure and hope even before you knew of the monster's existence, and only continued to move forward now that it had been many years since their official arrival.

 ****Here you are, while not too young to be deemed as unprofessional, you weren’t old enough to be taken seriously. Frisk often times wound up with the same problem unless waving their ‘Monster Ambassador’ and ‘Historian’ badge around. You, however, could only wave Frisk around as your “I’m important too!” sign. You hadn’t gotten to travel or adventure as much as you’d like, and as much as you’ve wanted. You were the perfect age of maturity, a lovely appearance that matched your curious mind and charming personality. As charming as you were, though, you were worried that overstepping your boundaries would cause your charm to deplete.

You wanted to go underground, specifically, to where the monsters once lived.

How to bring this up to Frisk, though, was the real question. Of course you didn’t exactly need their permission, you just wished for their blessing-- though if they wanted to tag along that would be even better. They were the spokesperson for all of monsterkind, while not the king (Which was a title supposedly belonging to Mr. Asgore, who ‘denounced’ his throne the moment they reached the surface and yet most monsters still look to him rather than Frisk for advice and information) they still played an important role on whether this or that can be discussed, poked at, or studied. They were only trying to keep the monsters safe, after all, and their position was for the sake of not having another war that sent monsters OR humans locked up underground.

 ****Would requesting permission to head to their place of origin really cause such a fuss?

“Yes, it would.” Frisk told you rather bluntly on the day that you gathered enough courage to ask them permission. Shot down before you could fly, what a charmer indeed.

 ****Frisk had a slightly-tanned complexion, their hazel eyes were narrowed away from you and towards their paperwork. They had mid-length brown hair, that matched their blue and brown suit and tie outfit, and to you they dressed more mature than necessary for their age (well, excluding the somewhat childish heart-shaped friendship locket they kept around their neck). You two were around the same age anyway, and yet you liked to go out and interview and _definitely_ not dress fanciful for the sake of keeping up appearances. The only difference between the two of you was that they were some fancy ambassador, if it weren’t for that you two would be total equals and you wouldn’t have to report to them about these sorts of matters.

“How?” You asked, with your eyes narrowed as well in annoyance. Not over the fact that they rejected your suggestion, but the fact that Frisk looked disinterested as if they didn’t even pay you any attention. “It’s empty, right? There shouldn’t be any problem with me going down there to start digging up things. What if there were monsters who even forgot a few things that they’d want back? We’ve had reports of  requested valuables because everyone thinks we might’ve kept them as ‘historical artifacts’.”

“I said no, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure I’m speaking English…” Frisk mumbled to themselves more so than speaking to you, still shuffling through papers before finally picking up a pen and scribbling down notes “At least I think so…”

 ****“Frisk, seriously.”

 ****It was hard to keep your composure, they didn’t often show much emotion even if they were happy or sad or, in this case, just as irritated as you were. Frisk always kept a rather ‘content’ expression on their features. Maybe that was the difference(other than ambassador status) between you two, you were expression **FUL** and they were expression **LESS**. “You can even take a day or two to think it over, it would be great for our research and books! Think about it, I’m sure even Ms. Toriel would like some--”

 ****“No means _no_ .” Frisk interrupted, but you persisted “ _No_ means that you’re trying to hide something! Either that, or you’re just worried that whatever I find down there will rank me higher.” As an example, you lifted your arm and hand upward as if it were a ‘height’ issue rather than anything else. Frisk finally set down their things to stare at you, you could’ve sworn you saw red in their eyes.

“Whether it’s empty or… _not_ , it’s dangerous down there.” Frisk breathed out rather tiredly, as if they had gone over this before. Who knew whether monsters came to them asking to go back down for some things? All you knew was that this was your first time making any sort of request to travel for the sake of study, and this was also your first time being shot down.

 ****They continued “The entrance is sealed off anyway, for safety purposes. There’s no way in.”

 ****“What sort of _safety?_ ” You demanded, somewhat growling at finding this out “Why are you keeping everyone out?!”

 ****After having said this, Frisk had suddenly slammed their hands down on their desk, lifting up out of their seat almost immediately. This easily caused you to back away and gasp from shock, but you still continued, even with a quivering lip “What are you… keeping _in_ then? _”_

There was a glint in Frisk’s eye, whether it was from some sort of magic or whether it was an actual spark, it was red and devilish.

“I’m not going to repeat myself anymore, so listen as best as you can.” Frisk breathed out, their voice was low, and their eyes were stuck to yours like glue. You couldn’t even peel your own away from theirs if you had tried. “It is _dangerous down there._ There is _no way in… and no way out._ And there is _nothing of interest to you there._ ”

 ****So now you knew there was definitely something of interest to you there.

 ****“ _Fine._ ” You managed in a faint voice, though your mind was full of anger, your lungs couldn’t express it. You felt your soul pumping out of your chest, but you swallowed the lump in your throat as a way to ease your fear. You never saw Frisk like this, it was very _very_ hard to get them angry, but apparently you did so rather easily. “If you don’t see me walking around at work for a few days, it’s because I’m depressed.” You dramatically posed, holding the back of your hand to your forehead. Though you were somewhat scared, you were thankful that this action caused Frisk to smile, and they relaxed and sat themselves back down in their seat.

 ****“You still haven’t used your vacation time.” Frisk decided to add in, returning to looking down at their paperwork “And I’m getting tired of your face anyway so I wouldn’t complain.”

 ****“GASP.” You breathed out as dramatically as you posed “But Frisk I thought we had something special!”

 ****Frisk laughed, suddenly whispering with good reason _“Yeah, as special as mom’s snail pie.”_

You puffed out your cheeks and smiled, trying to contain your laugh as you turned on your heel and waved, signalling your departure. The moment your back was facing Frisk was the moment your cheery expression dropped.

The act was set, you knew what to do.

 ****You walked out of their office and knew that you’d be packing your things the moment you got back to your small apartment, whether Frisk approved or not didn’t matter at this point.

You were **D  E  T  E  R  M  I  N  E  D.**


	2. You Were Betrayed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You _really_ hoped there weren’t any dead bodies at the end of this.

###  **Chapter Two:** ** _You Were Betrayed_**

You ransacked your apartment for all the essentials. You’ve seen plenty of movies and done plenty of research to determine what sorts of things were needed and what sorts of things weren’t when it came to adventuring into the unknown. You may have imagined and wished for adventure in your life, however this would be your first one. Rope was especially important, not just from what you had found out, but from the context clues Frisk had given you.

 

There is _no way in… and no way out._

 

Well, you could make your own entrance of course. And with that entrance you’ll make sure you mark where it’s located with the rope so you can then leave when you’re finished. You left Frisk’s office giving them the implication you would be taking vacation time off, so you would have a week to do your own underground studies and manage to get back in time before they even noticed your absence. Not that they would, apparently. Frisk joked that it would be more relieving to not show your face for awhile.

 

_Har har. Where’d Frisk learn to be such a tease?_

 

Rope, some medical supplies, a flashlight, and your tool roll with trusty pickaxe. You made sure to get your biggest water bottle, and of course some dry food rations for in the case of an emergency. You dressed yourself in some khaki shorts, long white socks that reached mid-shin and your steel-toed boots to help with any terrain dilemmas you might encounter. You wanted to stay comfortable as well as safe. You wore a rather thin shirt, but on top of that a khaki jacket that was weather resistant(you hoped). You looked just like an archaeologist that would be from the films, and though you weren’t sure if other archaeologists dressed as such in the real world, you figured that it didn’t matter what other people thought of your attire. You were on a mission, and you were way too excited to care for anyone’s judgement.

 

Your bag thrown over your shoulder, you locked your apartment and made your quick exit.

 

You kept your cellphone in your pocket as you went to your car in the parking lot, fumbling with the keys before climbing into the tiny buggy-shaped vehicle. It was rustic red, looking mighty scratched and run down, but you never much cared for showing off the little wealth you had saved up from your work for the sake of transportation in style, and you only needed the car for driving outside of town on rare few occasions such as this. The town you were in, after all, wasn’t entirely a huge place full of wealthy celebrities and fancy-kind of people, the only fame to its name was the title _“Where the monsters first appeared!”_ And, now that monsters spread farther than the town and lived all over the world, there weren’t always that many visitors besides some travelling for vacation and for, of course, you and Frisk’s historical findings on monsterkind. Actually, the only fancy car you’ve ever really seen up close and personal belonged to a skeleton named Papyrus, who had a really shiny red sports car that was well taken cared of.

The drive to the trail that lead to Mount Ebott was an hour away from town, and even once you parked your car in the gravel filled parking lot, you still had an hours worth of hiking in order to simply find out if what Frisk had said was true. Hoping to call their bluff, you were met with defeat when, by the late afternoon and the red sky simmering like fire, the area where the monsters had exited the underground all those years ago had been completely sealed off. It wasn’t a simple fence type of sealing either, apparently Frisk (or whoever ordered for the underground to be locked up) felt it best to make certain no one could _get in or out_ by cement bricks being stacked as if the exit never existed. And it had been so long since this occurred, that even tiny little vines were growing along the wall. The plants looked surprisingly green and flourishing, considering you couldn’t possibly imagine anyone visiting just to reminisce on the days of old and take care of the flowers here.

 

What monster would want to remember the days when they were locked underground? And what human would want to remember the days when monsters _DIDN'T_ exist?

 

So with your disheartening discovery, it took you yet another hour just to get back to your car, and by that time the red sky was growing darker as small white stars began to freckle the deep blue flooding above you. It was, thankfully, still light out by a little bit, and you were curious to find another way in. If the obvious choice was now not so obvious, how else could you get into the underground from out here?

Walking up the alternate trail, the thankfully shabbily blocked off path that only contained a rotten _‘Keep Out, Path Closed’_ sign, you began yet another hike. You were walking mostly for the sake of figuring out another way, however it wasn’t until the mountain got steeper that you were reminded of the history of Ebott. Frisk’s past was warning enough, including the other missing children and one of your old childhood friends that climbing the mountain was dangerous. All but one child climbed Mt. Ebott and vanished without a trace. Not only was Frisk’s return a symbol that there was indeed a way to get out, but it also meant that there was a way in and a way to _survive_ . With this in mind, you felt a little better that you weren’t climbing without purpose. Now you realized that there _had_ to have been a way that the children found themselves lost in the mountain. Did they also fall underground only to meet a terrible fate?

  
Or was the mountain simply like a maze and they were lost until they starved to death? _Or worse?_ You couldn’t recall whether there were wild animals lurking the mountain that might have caused the vanishing of so many people, but it did make you more alert. There were plenty of plants and tree’s, and even flowers that grew about as you trekked. You figured they would have been even more beautiful if it were lighter out, considering by the time you were even half-way up the path you had to pull out your flashlight.

When you finally reach your unrealized destination, you almost took a misstep and plunge deep into it.

Quickly recovering, you instead fall backward and away from the edge of the large, gaping hole that, in the dark, looked like a bottomless pit. To your horror, your mind raced with negative thoughts of corpses being at the bottom of the hole before you. Just the imagery alone made you suddenly afraid, but you knew that with being an archaeologist came these sorts of risks. Discovering new places, discovering the dead, the living, that was what had to be done for the sake of knowledge. You pushed the thoughts aside as you removed your backpack, pulling out the rope and climbing gear you had packed and securing it right at the edge of the hole that descended into the mountain. After you made sure the rope was tight around the hook, and the hook stiff in the earth, you slung the rope over and inside, while watching it with your flashlight shining down into the hole.

The rope from this light looked as if it fell into nothingness. You swallowed the lump in your throat as you placed the artificial light stick between your teeth and held the rope tightly between your(hopefully not too sweaty) fingers. The backpack on your shoulders, you mentally prayed for safety while trying to gather the courage to go down. It was officially night time, the entire sky was dark blue and cluttered with stars, but from where you were at you couldn’t see it, considering all the plants and trees were blocking the sky. You were surrounded by darkness, and were about to descend further into it. A smart thing to do would have been to go home until early morning, or maybe even sleep in the car until it was light again, but no, you really wanted to start your research _now._

 _“Don’t be a coward.”_ You told yourself through clenched teeth, that still bit down on the light in your mouth as you finally sucked it up and jumped, sliding slowly down the rope and burning your fingers in the process. You knew you’d have blisters that would last for days, your mistake of not packing any sort of hand gear would surely screw up your skin. Half way down(or what you at least hoped was half way) you had stopped to rethink your actions. You had fine arm and leg strength, and of course endurance to go along with it, so climbing down one step at a time wouldn’t be such a big deal, and it’d be easier than sliding down and reaching the bottom only to no longer have usable hands.

With a few grunts you continued down, climbing with one foot after the other, and one hand after the other. A steady pace, to not tire yourself out and not hurt your hands anymore than they already were. Your jaw was already getting tired from being locked around the flashlight anyway, you were already pondering dropping it, but the risk of it breaking permanently kept that from happening.

There was a faint breeze, the inside of the mountain was apparently very cool and, from what you could feel, damp. You heard the trickling of water not too far off, as well as what you figured was a bit of rustling leaves. Besides the natural noises of the mountain, there was complete silence. The shining of your light revealed the hanging cones of the cavern’s ceiling; stalactites, but you were still concerned that you couldn’t see the ground floor.

It smelled somewhat fresh, but also fairly old. _Dusty,_ wet, but also fresh and cool.

You _really_ hoped there weren’t any dead bodies at the end of this.

And just like that, another gentle breeze hit your skin.

It was, surprisingly, warm compared to the cooler breeze you had gotten used to. Almost as if it were someone’s breath against your neck. The thought made you shiver, however just as soon as you could make another downward climb, you felt your rope give way.

You didn’t hear it snapping, it simply didn’t support your weight anymore as the bit you held in your hands went limp like a cooked pasta-noodle. You held onto it as if it would still save you from falling.

Your body rushed, plummeting into the darkness as your teeth let go of the flashlight, your hand let go of the broken rope, and your mind let go of consciousness.

You were freefalling, but for how long you wouldn’t know, considering you were completely unconscious before you slammed into the Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >-in whiney voice- i knew i shouldve stayed home todaayyyyyy  
> >Chapters will start to get longer after this im sure so be warned


	3. You Were Welcomed to Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s been a long time, monsters live above ground now so… there’s no game down here for you.”
> 
> Your head was rattled, you had no idea what… it was talking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >There's lime here. But as soon as you see it, its gone.
> 
> >You waited too long... now yo candies gawn...
> 
> > BGAUUWWWSHHH.

###  **Chapter Three:** ** _You Were Welcomed to Stay_**

You gasped for breath.

 

Your eyes shot open as if it were all just a bad dream, and you laid there staring up at a red-orange orb of light. There was nothing but darkness surrounding you, at least from what you could see at the corners of your eyes without moving your head. Staring up at the light, now you were afraid that you were dead. Just the thought of having started a journey only to die by the dumbest means was heart wrenching, let alone disappointing. You willed yourself to live, mentally cheering in hopes of your silent praises being heard by, well, yourself. You wanted to keep going forward. This couldn’t be the end.

“I don’t...  _ want to die _ …” You whispered hoarsely. 

Your mouth was completely dry, and your body was aching yet numb. You couldn’t have been dead if you could feel all the different sensations, right? You forced yourself to return to the reality of the situation. You had fallen into a hole from the top of the Ebott mountain.

As you slowly sat up, you were greeted by the sharp pain in your lower back, as well as your ankle. But it wasn’t just that, the sudden realization and fear that caused your skin to pale was the fact that you couldn’t feel your whole left arm.

 

Had it  _ dislocated _ ?

 

“ _ Shit… _ ” You muttered, lifting your right arm to support your left, and as you tried to roll your shoulders you flinched violently and cried out. Biting back the tears that slid down your cheeks, the sharp stinging pain made you want to fall back into a slumber. You had already been screaming out of agony, but you choked it all down and resorted to coughing instead. The nerves sent a wave of pain and close to nausea through the rest of you, your teeth still clenched as tears welled up in your eyes. It was hard to hold back any more tears if they kept falling down anyway.

Blinking them away as best as you could, you looked back up to the glowing orb that you now recognized as the hole you had fallen from. The red-orange glow was the sky, and now you wondered if you had been unconscious for more than just a few hours. You even worried whether it had been an entire day since you had fallen, but you tried to ignore it and focus on the current issue. For now, you had a twisted ankle and a dislocated arm(Or just the shoulder? You weren’t a medical professional.)

Looking around, you wondered how you were even supposed to help yourself. You were sitting in a bed of golden flowers, the same that were scattered about your hometown in vases, in the sidewalk cracks, in the meadows, and even a few on the mountain trail you had climbed from what you remembered. Your mind was a bit hazy, but the flowers were a comforting sight. You wondered how you ever survived such a huge drop, looking back up and noting that the broken rope piece still hung against the edge of the entrance, gently swinging back and forth.

 

_ Focus… focus… _

 

“ _ My emergency kit… _ ” You breathed out tiredly, looking around again to scan your surroundings. Your rolled up archaeology tool kit had been tossed open, the tools scattered every which way. This was the same for the emergency kit that you spotted a bit farther than everything else; the gauze, disinfectant, bandages and the like were littering the dampened earth near the walls of the cavern. There was the trickling of water not too far off again, a reminder of what you had heard earlier before your fall, but you had wondered if it were just blood flowing out your ear. 

You even used your good arm to check, considering your other arm was completely limp. 

Blisters and callouses made your hand rough, and looking it over there was definitely rope burn.

As much as you wanted to sit there and cry, which you did for a good long time, you really needed to figure out what to do now. You were a sitting duck, your supplies scattered all over, and with a busted ankle you weren’t sure how you’d be able to--

 

Were there…  _ letters _ ?

 

As you continued inspecting your area, hidden(or maybe you just sat on them) through the golden flowers were plenty of letters. They didn’t even look old and worn, they looked rather new. You needed a break from reality, your curious mind slowly returning and wanting to find out if this was a great discovery, so you pulled out one of the letters from its already opened envelope to skim through its contents:

  
  


_ “TO MY DEAREST FLOWER FRIEND, _

_ THE FLOWEY FAN CLUB IS STILL RUNNING TO THIS DAY, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE! ALL THINGS CONSIDERED HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY ME, FRISK, AND MY BROTHER STILL. YOU REMEMBER SANS, RIGHT? _

_ SANS IS NOT AS EXCITED ABOUT OUR MEETINGS, FOR HE DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS LETTER AS MUCH AS I. BUT FRISK WOULD ESPECIALLY LIKE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THEY MISS YOU. I AM NOT SURE HOW THEY ARE ABLE TO SEE YOU ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE, BUT THEY SAY THAT YOU ARE NEVER AROUND WHEN THEY STOP BY. IT WOULD CHEER THEM UP IF THEY COULD SEE YOU, FLOWEY, EVEN IF I CAN’T. I HOPE YOU’RE DOING WELL THOUGH, MY FRIEND! IF YOU’RE SICK PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN, THERE IS PLENTY OF MEDICINE FOR PLANTS AND MONSTERS ALIKE UP HERE! _

_ THE SURFACE IS AS GOOD AS IT HAS BEEN ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, NOTHING HAS CHANGED OTHER THAN THE SPICES I USE IN MY SPAGHETTI, WHICH I HAVE DROPPED A FEW BOTTLES FOR YOU. KEEP COOKING AND DON’T LOSE HOPE! _

_ FLOWER FRIEND, PLEASE STAY SAFE. _

_ LOVE, _

_ PAPYRUS.” _

  
  


_ “Papyrus.” _ You breathed out in somewhat shock. There was someone down here opening these letters and reading them! Frisk knew, Papyrus knew, Sans knew, who the hell else knew that someone was  _ locked away underground still?  _ Did they  _ seriously _ think it was okay to abandon one of their own? Let alone some-- from what you could read it was some Flower Plant Monster thing?

Why weren’t they letting them out?

 

_ “What a snoop~” _

 

The sudden voice rang around the cavern and you let go of the letter. It fluttered down, but only to rest in your lap. You held your breath as if it would help, considering you were literally in the only spotlight of the room. Stiffening your body to be as still as you can be, your eyes lowered downward as you watched sudden green vines slowly grow around your waist. While one wrapped around you almost delicately, the other brushed over the letter, only to snatch it.

 

_ “Common sense is: If it’s not written for you, don’t read it.  _ But humans don’t have any common sense. _ ” _

 

You just realized you’re sitting in something damp. You surely hoped you hadn’t pissed yourself.

 

_ “Wow, you look like complete shit! You must’ve taken such a fall~” _ The voice continued, its tone was somewhat mocking, very much on the passive-aggressive side of the spectrum. A tone soothing, soft, and yet cynical and uncaring. They sounded comforting and concerned, but the tone they used sounded disinterested and, surprisingly unsurprised.

You can't turn your head from how stiff it was, so you dared to pull your hips away from the vines, and they easily loosened their grip. Slowly you lifted on your knees, wincing from the pain in your shoulder and ankle as you turned yourself completely around, and yet there was no one to be found. You were hoping the voice wasn’t just in your head, but you then looked down to realize that the wetness you had sat in was the crushing of your backpack, which contained your flattened and now emptied water bottle.

You grunted in annoyance, using your good arm to reach your hand and grasp at the wet backpack, holding it up and watching the now dirty water drip from the end. Even bits of your dried out foods had been soaked into the earth. Everything was mixed into the flower bed and the mud, either completely inedible, or if you were desperate it’d be a rather dirty salad.

 

_ “No surprise that another human, after all these years, falls down and once again somehow survives.” _ The voice picked up again, this time it sounded far off, but it was definitely in the same room.

 

Your cellphone popped into your head, and you felt up your pockets. 

When the rectangular shape was felt, you pulled out the device only to see a rather deep crack in the screen. Smartphones could be broken as easily as body parts apparently, and with a soft sigh, you tested to see if there was even any service where you were.

Of course not.

 

The vines appeared again, slowly wrapping themselves around you, and with a weak breath you were squeezed roughly and lifted up in the air. Your mind was having trouble even comprehending what was happening, you could only assume this was the work of a monster, considering they labelled you ‘human’ like some foreign species, and no humans from what you could tell had these sorts of abilities. You remained breathless all the while the vines seemed to work their way around your body, as if securing you to make sure you didn’t cause such a fuss. Even if you wanted to, you were too weak to defend yourself for the moment, and remained airborne while the tendrils seemed to begin grabbing for all the letters beneath you.

 

_ “Not only do you disorganize my pile but then you start reading it, why are humans assholes?” _

 

After everything (that at least interested the monster) was grabbed, you were dropped with a hard thud, whimpering in your already injured state as you tried to get comfortable again on the bed of flowers. That’s when you finally got to see it, not too far from where you faced there was a golden flower, similar to the ones you sat on, using its vines and stacking the letters in the dark. It’s eyes were glowing, and the moment it noticed you staring, suddenly you turned your head away.

“You’re a little late, aren’t you?” Now you knew the voice was coming from the flower, it… he… whatever was smiling towards you, their eyes smiled with them. “It’s been a long time, monsters live above ground now so… there’s no game down here for you.”

Your head was rattled, you had no idea what… it was talking about.

“You look like you could use some help, buddy.” The flower suddenly sang with glee, though you still heard the cynical tone in the back of its throat as it slowly approached, almost surfing through the earth. Suddenly it sank down into the dirt, only to make you jump from surprise at its appearance right in front of you “Golly! Your arm’s dislocated!” It glanced down at your legs “And your ankle doesn’t look too good either.” The flower then lifted its gaze up to inspect your face, staring what you thought was like the type of stare someone gave another person of intimate interest.

 

“And your rope snapped too, what  _ bad luck _ !”

 

Or at least you  _ thought  _ it was inspecting your face.

 

“Are you a monster?” You asked somewhat dumbly, and meekly. The beady eyes shifted to your face, causing you to lean away a bit. 

“Me?” The flower gave you a confused look as it tilted its (cute) little head “Do I  _ look _ like one? I get that you’re no botanist but, ya don’t need ta be one to know what I am.”

You swallowed “A... flower?”

The flower’s vines seemed to stretch out like arms “That’s right! I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower!”

 

Your stomach churned.

 

“And you look like you could use a, well…” Flowey snickered “A hand.”

You swallowed again, swallowing back the small hint of fear that tried to come out from your throat, and you nodded “Could you… grab my first aid kid? It’s kinda… scattered about over there.” For some reason you had a bad feeling in your stomach, so you did your best to direct the plant's attention towards the other items as a means of, well, either running for dear life or to actually retrieve them in an attempt to heal.

Flowey did turn its head towards the gestured materials, though it looked back towards you with its smile still stuck on its lips. “But if I fix you up, you’ll be able to do that yourself!” Flowey said rather cheerfully as a vine began to wrap around your injured shoulder. If it was preparing to do what you were thinking it was, you knew you would be screaming for a  _ very  _ long time. You shook your head quickly, trying to yank away and release your arm but the pain that shot through you caused you to cry out instead. You begged, pleaded, screamed for it to stop “Please-- no! I  _ can’t!” _

“Well, maybe _you_ can’t…” Flowey’s face suddenly contorted into that of some horrifying beast, causing you to cringe as it continued “...But I  **C  A  N .** ” The vines only squeezed harder, and the tears kept falling as your own face contorted into, what you were imagining looked rather disgusting for an adult to be doing.

“Flowey!” You cried out just as you had done before, this time shaking your head so fast that the world was spinning. You had a horrible headache, and the physical refusal being shown through your head shaking was only making it worse. Your brain was practically rattling in your skull from how hard you tried to reject Flowey’s help. 

 

Was this all a dream? Were you still in your apartment? Would you wake up soon?

 

“ _ PLEASE! _ ” You begged once more, though now you only heard the flower counting down from five. You threw your head back and cried out. Four...three. Your screams and sobs echoed off the walls so that only you and Flowey could hear them shouted right back. Your bravery gone, curiosity completely depleted, you wanted to go home. Two… and you kept wailing, your world completely distorted due to the tears you shed blurring your eyesight.

 

You cried out more.

 

You cried out for help.

 

...It was no surprise that nobody came.

 

“Aw…” Flowey’s voice had suddenly lowered, their vines loosened around your arm. 

You were a sniffling mess, and the moment the plant had let go, you used your good arm to support your other in a comforting embrace. You hugged yourself like you were your own best friend.

Flowey breathed out, rather lazily “I didn’t realize that a dislocated shoulder meant so much to you.” The tendril slid up across your cheek rather gently, the end of the vine brushing under your eye as an attempt to wipe away your tears. You sniffed again, blinking a few away as the hot tears rolled down your face, and Flowey brought one of the tears on its vine closer as if it needed to be inspected. For a second, you were confused as to why Flowey really was looking at the tear like some royal artifact, before the flower flicked it off its tiny leaf.

“I’m just…” You weren’t sure if Flowey even had good intentions “I’m scared, okay? I said it.” You felt completely embarrassed, which was ridiculous considering the only other living thing in the room was a flower who, you suspected, was already insane and didn’t really care for how you felt. “It hurts, but I’m just… this all went wrong so fast.”

“Oh, it  _ did? _ ” Flowey blinked, peering over you in wonder “How so?”

“Look at all this!” You yelled out, using your good arm to gesture towards the scattered objects and items, the ruined food supplies “Half my  _ shit _ is destroyed ‘cause I probably used some bad rope! No one even knows I’m down here because I told my colleague I was going on  _ vacation!  _ I messed up my ankle and my arm, and I’ve… I’ve....” You took in a few deep breaths after having said your story so fast. You didn’t even know how to end it, the flower arching a brow at your actions as you found a few words left “I’ve got no way out of here…”

 

Flowey’s expression seemed to change, rather drastically. Almost as if it were lost in thought, the flower murmured “Join the club.”

 

You blinked towards it, before its vines wrapped around your ankle. You weakly shook your head, though at this point you were so tired from so much crying that you really couldn’t fight anymore.

 

Flowey spoke up, suddenly they were so gentle with their words that you were almost shocked. The passive-aggressive tone, that 6th sense of yours that they were secretly a jerk in disguise, it all washed away. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s no way around this.” He sighed “Either fix it now, or deal with it later. I’m gonna help you but this is the only way, and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

You swallowed, Flowey’s eyes didn’t leave your own as they continued “Bite something if you can~” 

 

And with a sudden disturbingly bright smile, they snapped your ankle in place. 

 

Before you could even scream out from the pain, you hadn’t realized that Flowey re-wrapped their vines around your shoulder, also snapping it in place.

 

Your mind was fighting to stay conscious again, and all the while Flowey was silently holding your limbs in place like they would fall off if it let go. You felt their eyes fixated on you, judging your actions, trying to see how you would react to what had just happened. You did your best not to scream or cry anymore as the tendrils squeezed. You did your best to think of them as a strangely comforting  _ hug. Oh boy, flowery hugs. _

_ You had to have been going insane. _

You fell back into the flowers, staring up at the red-orange hole in the ceiling of the dark. Your eyes were half lidded, your bottom lip quivered but you were officially all out of tears. It felt like you stared up at the light for hours, but it had only been minutes before Flowey’s innocent face poked its head in your line of sight, looking down at you almost in concern.  _ Almost. _

“How are ya feelin’?” Flowey asked as if it were truly concerned. You wondered whether they were or not, but you also didn’t want to ask. You looked away, testing your shoulder and finding out that you could move your arm again. There was a small bit of achiness to it, but not unbearable. Your ankle felt better too. “Good.” You admitted “I’m feeling, good.”

“Good.” Flowey smiled, pulling themselves away and releasing their vines from your body. You hadn’t realized that Flowey had been holding on all that time, but you also didn’t mind it. Suddenly the coldness of the cavern returned, as of Flowey stole the warmth away. They immediately changed the subject “I’m actually surprised you weren’t all too freaked out by me. I can assure you it’s not every day you find a talking flower. I’m pretty  _ unique. _ ”

“You are unique, but I’m not surprised by you.” You agreed with a nod, slowly sitting up. Your whole body aching, but you supposed that was normal. Better than having fractured and destroyed limbs. “When you live in a town of monsters, and study them every day, you get used to these sorts of things.”

Flowey’s cheery and intrigued mood seemed to drop. “I’m not a monster.”

You corrected yourself with a sigh “I didn’t mean that, I just meant that I’m used to… well…  _ different. _ “ You gave a tiny smile, it was somewhat forced considering your whole face felt stiff. Not just from the injuries, but from all the crying you had done not too long ago “And I guess it’s mostly me studying their past and history, not just monsters themselves.”

Flowey didn’t seem to want to respond, and you weren’t sure what else to say in the silence as you slowly regained your composure and wiped your eyes. You decided to take a breather, simply sitting there and taking a few deep breaths for a moment before looking back to Flowey, who was now intently staring downward.

“Um…” You started, to signal Flowey that you were talking to them “Thank you… for helping me… I appreciate it, really.” Your smile was more genuine now. You felt like such a kid for the way you behaved, whether Flowey’s intentions at first had been ill or not. Disinfectant stung a wound but it always helped and was meant for the best, children would cry and scream their eyes out but they would feel better in the end; and this was no exception. If it were just a normal flower, you would have rewarded it (and yourself) by picking it out of the rest and taking it home with you, but instead you settled for leaning down and gently gracing your lips against one of Flowey’s flower petals, giving a small kiss to the assistance.

 

Flowey suddenly sank into the ground, re-appearing a few feet away. “ _ WHAT! _ ”

 

“What?” You blinked.

 

“What was  _ THAT _ for?!” The golden flower’s head bobbed rather quickly, its vines had found their way around you in a tight squeeze, even with the flower being farther away than they really needed to be. As if restraining you from attacking it, when it was already obvious Flowey was the one to have ‘attacked’ you first. “D-Don’t go around smooching flowers!” Flowey stammered, trying to figure out what to say next. You couldn’t see that far off, but you thought the golden flower was turning pink. It was still rather cute to you, the flustered flower seemed to be trying to figure out what to even say. You could’ve sworn you were hearing it curse up a storm to itself.

_ Boy or girl flower? _

Flowey finished with “YOU’RE A PERVERT!”

You paused. “The hell.” You muttered to yourself.

“Don’t touch my stuff!  _ OR ME! _ ” The flower added, vanishing once more only to appear by their stacks of letters. They were the letters that Flowey had organized earlier in the dark after having held you up in the air against your will. You figured a kiss wasn’t as bad as what they had done to  _ you. _ His eyes were tightly shut as if refusing to look at you, finally releasing their vines from around you as the plants sank into the earth beneath you. “If it’s not yours it means it’s  _ MINE _ . Have fun wandering around the ruins ‘til ya die! PERV!” And with that they sank just as quickly into the ground again. To your dismay, they didn’t pop up anywhere else in the room.

 

How the hell were you supposed to find your way out?

 

Standing up then, your mind returned to silence as the room had been before, the faint trickle of water in the distance, the rather cool yet humid air. What you had thought smelled fresh and rather soothing on your way down now smelled of mold, something abandoned and forgotten. 

You carefully stepped out of the flower patch before gathering the few things you could. You rung out the dirty water from your backpack, flicking your wrist to let it crack in the air as an attempt to toss any loose droplets from the material, before you picked up the medical supplies and tools that survived your fall. Of course your weather resistant jacket managed to prove its true worth, not having much as a stain from the fall, however it had been a bit torn due to the rough impact, maybe even the rough handling Flowey did on you.

You needed to find water, it sounded not too far off, but you still had to figure out how you would eat and survive underground until you could return home.

“This was such a bad idea.” You were practically laughing at yourself, under your worn out breath as you shut your bag and slid your arms through each strap. Your hair was a mess, but the fall still didn’t change how little you cared for appearances. Trying to think positive, you figured that since you were down here anyway, you might as well get back to your original plan; which was to scavenge and study the underground. Here you were, after all, with no way back out other than busting through the exit or finding a way to climb up that entrance, so might as well attempt to enjoy yourself.

Flowey was an interesting flower, apparently Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus knew… it well. They wrote letters to the peculiar thing every day, though you suspected that if it wasn’t all three of them writing every day, it was definitely Papyrus… considering he sounded the most excitable and eager in what you read.

It was easy to connect the dots that all of Flowey’s letters were from Papyrus, or the ‘Flowey Fan Club’. The flower’s personality was still hard to read, considering they went from quick to tease to easily flustered just as fast as you had gone from brave adventurer to crying infant.

If they knew about Flowey being underground still, why would they seal off the exit?

  
The underground suddenly seemed inviting, as you made your way in the only direction available; which was forward.


	4. You Were Lead Astray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all, you had your tantrum earlier on in front of Flowey, that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >I think there's... stuff in here-- so there's some uh...  
> > lemony freshness
> 
> >but what would u do for a klondike bar tho  
> >WINK WONK

###  **Chapter Four:** ** _You Were Lead Astray_**

 

You expected to climb underground and explore an abandoned, mysterious world; left alone to your studies and research and to come back every day for the rest of the week.

However, you were greeted with a snapping rope that left you permanently stuck, broken limbs, a monster(actually a _flower)_ and a well lit and slightly maintained location. Hopefully not actually _permanent_ , but for now you were trapped underground with no way out.

 

Well, no time to panic.

 

You weren’t starving just yet, and the sound of water was quite promising. You had until the end of the week to find a way out before Frisk probably realized you went against what they told you. Frisk was never the type to say _‘i told you so.’_ or rub it in whenever they were right on things, but they enjoyed giving you the implications through facial expression whenever they had informed you of something that you didn’t listen to or they were right and you were wrong. For someone who didn’t show much expression, they seemed to do it often during those situations.

The fact that, this time, you had gotten Frisk angry about exploring the underground before leaving made you figure that, well, if Frisk found you down below there wouldn’t exactly be any room for teasing and pretending it never happened.

The negative thoughts of being stripped from your title made you concerned, but you knew there was no use treading on such thoughts, all things considered. It was too late for that (that was probably something you should’ve done before going against Frisk’s wishes), it was time to survive and do what you came here to. Study.

Having a flower poking around wasn’t entirely too bad either. They _did_ help with your arm and ankle, and even though it turned total tsundere... you were kind of happy that you weren’t completely alone. Not only that, but you had someone to interview now… if they would allow it, of course.

As you ventured forth, with the damp and somewhat heavy bag on your back and your steel-toed boots also heavy, you made your way through the dimly lit environment. You couldn’t find your flashlight, so you had to depend on the fact that Flowey resided underground still and lit up the place a bit. And you thanked them under your breath as you entered an entry hall lit with torches, finding two staircases that slowly conjoined into one that lead to another door. The stairs were completely covered in vines, as if the vines were the only thing holding everything in place from crumbling apart. It would have made sense that after all these years nothing was maintained and everything simply fell into pieces, though with Flowey being underground still you simply chose to believe they were now the caretaker of the ruins. You knew there had to have been more to this place considering the amount of monsters that reached the surface and spread, wondering this to yourself as you took the stairs carefully while scribbling notes in your still wet journal.

The ink bled all over the paper, some of your notes turning into blotches of black rather than actual letters or even words, but you told yourself you’d rewrite them when you returned home so that they were legible.

Stepping through the doorway to the next room, you noticed a few pressure plates to your right inside the smaller chamber. It was significantly smaller of a room than the entry way, but it also looked as if it could have been a room used incase of, perhaps, people like you entering uninvited and trying to storm your way through the underground. Even though Flowey had yelled a threat of _wandering until you died_ , the puzzle, or trap, had already been activated, and the next doorway was open and waiting.

You jotted down the fact that the pressure plates had a thick layer of dust on them, and the entire room smelled rather musty. The walls, from what you could tell by the one torche in the room, were a deep shade of purple, and from the looks of the plush earth beneath your boot that was also purple, you assumed all of the ruins were a majestic purple theme. You thought of _royal purple_ as you made your way through the open door that, to your delight, let the sounds of rushing water fill your ears.

 

You didn’t even think of exploring the room for the time being, you hurried forward and followed your senses. It was only a few short steps before you approached a small stream, the water rushing through rather quickly with a tiny vine bridge arching over for, perhaps people like you, to walk across without having to jump or swim. Kneeling down beside the stream, the water looked surprisingly fresh, an idea that perhaps there was fresh water not too far from the underground that ran deep into the mountain as a natural source. Cupping your hands, you scooped some of the crystal clear liquid into your palms and lifted it to your lips, gulping it down rapidly to quench your never-ending thirst.

At least your _actual_ thirst was satisfied, and the concern of having to figure out where to get water could now be tossed to the back of your mind.

Once you had your fill you stood back to your feet, rubbing your knees with a content sigh as you carefully stepped on the bridge made completely out of vines and a mix of green, purple, and red leaves. Not too far off, you thought you hadn’t seen another bridge for the other stream ahead of you, but as you approached there it was, looking exactly like the other you had just crossed. You didn’t question it as you crossed and carried forward.

 

Once more, many of the puzzles had been completed or deactivated, and you were starting to wonder if it was just for convenient purposes. After all, from what you knew(or you guess from what you _didn’t know)_ , there could have been a few other monsters underground still that wound up trapped like Flowey. Perhaps they figured deactivating them would be easier than having to go through them over and over. But as you ventured, so many of the rooms and walls were coated in a dust that made your theory faulty. Sure, if all the monsters that remained were lazy, it could still be true that people resided underground as of today… but the likelihood of someone at least attempting to clean up in occupied spaces seemed to have a higher chance than the likelihood of someone by themselves would clean locations they rarely stayed long in. They were simply passage corridors, maybe no one felt they needed to be cleaned?

You still wondered, and maybe hoped, that there were others down in the underground that you could talk to.

Stepping over old yellowing flyers for spider bake sale’s (Which you especially knew belonged to Ms. Muffet, the most popular baker of your hometown who often bragged about her ‘low income’ beginnings underground selling donuts and ciders for a fundraiser), you eventually found your way onto, what appeared to be, a balcony that overlooked a crumbling and forgotten city. The underground city of the monsters… at least, the ruins of such. While some of the places far off in the distance were lit with lamps and torches, others were left in complete darkness, blocking out your sight from seeing all of the section from where you stood. You would have to get down there somehow to walk through and find new discoveries, and you made sure to note this in your journal how beautiful the architecture was. Very classical, _so retro._

 

You were admiring how sturdy the balcony was, considering it had probably been years since it was used, when coincidence decided to make it break.

Reaching the edge of the balcony to grab hold of the railing, the flooring near the doorway you had entered suddenly began to give way, a long crack forming all along the wall behind you as a signal of the entire balcony preparing to fall.

With swift movements and rather clumsy reflexes, you ran back to the doorframe, grunting as you gripped the sides in time for the old flooring to crack, crumble, and collapse. Even as it fell, the balcony was breaking apart into pieces of debris and rock, and it was a long way down before you heard it exactly hit the city below.

With a small huff, you used your arm strength to pull yourself up and back through where you had came. Sitting there for a moment, you were starting to notice a pattern of unlucky events, but you tried your best not to think too negatively. After all, you had your tantrum earlier on in front of Flowey, that was enough.

 

Backtracking to the room you had passed up earlier on, re-stepping over the old flyers, you entered a wide and open space. The walls were covered in vines, with each vine bloomed tiny flowers and flower buds, and there was a large dead tree sitting at the center of the room surrounded by even more dead(deader?) leaves. Though the tree looked like the corpse of its former glory, it looked as if it were still growing, considering the vinery that laced over the base of the blackened bark. Either the vines were trying their best to keep the tree together, or they were making sure that the tree kept at least growing straight and upward. Inspecting the dead leaves implied that it was an oak tree.

The leaves looked close to the few piles you had found while making your way to this location, so you wondered if they had either been spread out, or if there were more holes in the ceiling that revealed the surface-world, causing plant life to gently flutter into the underground. On the ceiling of the cavern was no exception to the idea, you could see small specks of light that sprayed along the ground, scattering warm-spots of what little sunshine was left of the day. Wherever the tiny spots of sun rested on the damp and cool earth, you saw bushes of grass, though it still wasn’t as much as where you had fallen down into the flowerbed.

This place, while it definitely had the feel of having been abandoned completely, also had the feel of being more taken cared of than the rest of the ruins you had explored. The plant life in the room was breathtaking, and you truly wished that your phone was still working.

If only the people of today didn’t depend on their smartphones so much for everything, you could’ve gotten your own professional camera for photographic purposes instead of hoping your smartphone had good memory and a strong phone case.

 

As you followed the barely visible path on the ground, it lead you to a home. You were expecting it, and yet you also...weren’t? There was a house simply sitting there, a garden outside of it that still grew plants and other vegetation, and as you hurried up to peek through the windows, there was even light inside, hinting that it was occupied. More monsters? Perhaps it wasn’t just Flowey after all! You could interview all of the new underground dwellers, perhaps even see to it that they get to the surface with their friends and family!

You were all too excited to try the door, though even after realizing it was locked it didn’t stop you from trying another two or three times.

After the fourth try your enthusiasm faltered.

“Crap.” You huffed, it wasn’t until then that you felt very tired. Whether you were completely worn out from your exploration and getting all the way there(which was indeed a long walk but that was all it was, just a walk) or still recovering from all that had happened in your arrival, you found yourself yawning and your head rather heavy. You forced yourself to stay alert as you tried the door once more, but it was still locked.

 

“Wow, isn’t there some sorta _law_ against breaking and entering?”

 

You quickly turned your head towards the familiar voice, only for them to have vanished. You could’ve sworn it was behind you, but you simply turn your attention back towards the door--

only for Flowey’s face to have been an inch from yours. You were too surprised to move.

“You enter the underground and break your arm, now you’re trying to get into _my house~?_ ” Flowey snickered, their beady eyes had suddenly hollowed out as if their eyeballs had melted into the back of their skull, leaving tiny glowing white pupils in their place. Flowey’s teeth... jagged and rough... as they gave a, what you would call, signature creepy grin. “So if I let you come in, _what can I break of yours?”_

 

“H-Hey, Flowey.” You simply greeted them, lifting a hand to give a gentle wave. However as soon as your arm was up a vine had wrapped around your wrist. It gave a pull causing you to stumble forward and practically butt heads with the flower.

“Don’t _hey Flowey_ me, human.” Flowey hissed, their eyes squinting into yours “Playthings should ask _permission_ before wandering into places they don’t belong!” They finally let go, shoving you away and causing you to stumble backward. Unlike before, this time you didn’t catch yourself; you fell on your ass with a hard thud, though thankfully the ground was soft.

Flowey had stretched themselves up to get to your eye level, but now that you had fallen back, they slowly shrank to their normal tiny height. “You look even shittier than before, must’ve been _so hard_ just to make it here alive~” They grinned wider, cackling.

“The only _fall_ I took was at the balcony.” You said with a huff, blowing some hair out of your face as you carefully stood back to your feet. There were many aspects of Flowey that frightened you, and yet the memory of their comforting lecture before helping you out (and snapping your body parts back into place) kept you DETERMINED to believe they were good, not evil. “It was unstable, I was only there for about a few minutes before it almost fell underneath me!”

 

“Well,” Flowey started, suddenly their expression shifted back to normal, with their dull and unamused/disappointed look as their small eyes wandered over your figure “I went on there all the time and it didn’t fucking _break_ , maybe if you didn’t have so much weight on you--”

You stomped your foot “How about shut _up!”_ There wasn’t much of a comeback to give, you were already red in the face. For someone who didn’t care about their appearance, the thought of being judged by a total stranger, let alone a flower, made you defensive. You felt horribly embarrassed and now you knew you were exposed and showing it.

Having interrupted Flowey, it caused their eyes to narrow, as his main stem slowly grew back to reach your eye level. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that this was your world and you made the rules.” They paused, before vines burst from the earth and immediately wrapped around your legs. The sound was like a crashing wave, only instead of water splashing over your body it was dirt from the ground. In the mess that covered your eyes and flew at you, the tight grip on your body made you part your lips, only for a bit of mud to touch your tongue. The vines crawled up to your hips, giving everything a firm and uncomfortable squeeze as you gasped for air. Almost instantly your legs had gone numb, and you couldn’t feel anything from the waist down as he wrapped you up. You almost looked like a mermaid, of course you were a mud coated and vine wrapped one.

 

“Oh, right.” Flowey commented quickly “It _isn’t._ You’re nothing but a character in someone else’s book.”

 

“What the hell is your problem!?” You demanded, squirming and struggling for freedom as you were lifted to hover above the ground. It wasn’t that far of a drop, however it wasn’t a drop at all for as long as Flowey squeezed and held you. The tendrils continued crawling, now having wrapped around your belly and you grunted “You act like I’m afraid of you and I should have a reason to be, but you’re the guy-- thing… whatever that helped my arm and leg! YOU’RE A NICE PERSON!”

You let out a heavy breath, the vines had grown more and were now crushing your chest.

“I’m not afraid of you! In- In fact I wanna get to know you--” Your mouth had been silenced, the sensation of your jaw practically stretching to dislocate for the sake of being gagged by a thick vine shoved into your mouth felt overwhelming. It was so sudden, and a rather shocking and lewd moment that had never occurred to you in your entire life. _Deepthroated by a fucking plant?!_

 

Your eyes immediately filled with tears, and the swelling of the plant forcing your entire mouth to widen and loosen, but to also make you drink your words.

The only awkward thing about all this was that your mind flashed back to a time when you ran into a monster on the surface, Undyne, and her girlfriend a couple weeks back. You were meant to interview them, but they were watching something strangely similar to this situation. As soon as you entered the house, they turned it off fairly quickly. _Fucking hentai._

_This didn’t feel as good as it looked in the shows._

 

“I don’t need someone to be afraid of me…” Flowey suddenly breathed out, their breath heavy and voice low. You could feel yourself gagging and retching against the plant matter that was starting to tickle its way down the back of your throat, being forced to swallow anything your body attempted to throw up due to how large it had gotten. There was no way you could plead for freedom with your mouth occupied, let alone your whole body wrapped tight enough to crush. But suddenly, after what felt like an eternity of torture, the vine retracted from your mouth, causing you to cough and hack as everything else loosened around you and you were dropped back to the ground. Fallen on your hands and knees, you simply sputtered and threw up, the taste of dirt and grass covering your mouth.

“I have no problems with you, _friend_ … none whatsoever~” Flowey suddenly finished, their menacing face, the vines that surrounded them, suddenly all vanished as they had done before, returning Flowey to an ‘innocent’ state of appearance. “I only helped you back there because you were crying like a fucking baby. The underground is _quite_ empty, sounds tend to carry.”

 

“ _You…_ ” You coughed, on your hands and knees trying to return air to your lungs. From Flowey slowly looming over you, the feeling of eyes on your back, you felt ashamed and embarrassed. The position you were in made you look like bowing before some sort of king “You still didn’t have to… no one _made_ you help me… I… I could’ve cried myself to _death_ and you still didn’t _have_ to help me…”

Flowey simply remained silent, watching you with dark intent apparent in their eyes, but they didn’t respond as they let you cough and gasp more, spitting whatever tiny leaves remained in your mouth. All the water you had drank earlier felt gone, your mouth dried up, like the plant drank and drained everything from your body as it had forced you to deepthroat its vine.

You were feeling rather disgusting.

“But you _did_ …” You finished, finally lifting your head up to see just how close Flowey was to you. Their face right in front of yours, but all you did was furrow your brows, DETERMINED to shut the flower down.

“You helped me anyway… whether you want to believe it or not, you’re a good person.”

 

“I’m not a _person_ ,” Flowey rolled their eyes “You _moron._ How many times do I have to repeat myself before you actually open your ears and shut your mouth?!”

 

“Either way you’re good, and deal with it.” You blurted with a huff.

 

Flowey glared, only meeting your glare in response.

Finally they mumbled “Him. By the way.”

 

You breathed out, slowly trying to stand back to your feet. Your body was recovering from being numb, so now everything felt like tiny needles and pins poking all over your body. “ _Him_ who?”

 

“Me.” Flowey added almost too simply “I’m male, the correct pronoun is _he and him._ ”

You dared to question aloud “How do you know you’re a guy?”

 

Like before, you met _his_ tsundere side “I-I just know! God-- you really _are_ an _idiot!_ ” Turning his head away so fast that the petals that haloed his head waved with his motions, to you it looked like he was just dramatically flipping his hair “I’m getting sick of you already. Fuck face.”

With those last words, he sank into the earth, vanishing as he had done earlier on.

 

Even though you were more angered at that moment than anything, you took a heavy breath as if you had been holding it in for so long. Three times so far you were close to death, the fall, the balcony, and now Flowey was threatening to crush you and-- well, gag you to death? Your headache was back, once again your mouth was completely dry and in need of watering, and now your body felt so weak that you could barely hold your own weight. Fear and anger were fusing into one.

“Is this gonna be your signature act?!” You called out, your voice cracked and was rather hoarse due to the itchiness that now sat at the back of your throat. Your yell echoing off the walls and now circulating the empty cavern to only yell back at you as you continued “While I’m down here just-- trying to crush me and… and what mouth fuck me before running away?! Every time?!”

You took a moment to wait for your own voice to vanish and fade away before adding “Do I look like some hentai character to you?! You pervert!!”

You then stood there in silence, waiting even longer for a response.

 

_But nobody answered._

 

“God, what a creep!” You licked your dry bottom lip, feeling a long cut where the tip of your tongue poked and prodded out of curiosity. _Even more injuries_ , you weren’t surprised, but you were getting more and more disappointed. The more you tried to befriend and talk with the flower, the more _he_ fought back and ran off.

Slowly dragging yourself to the door again, you decided against your better judgement to give it a firm knock.

1, 2, 3. Three knocks, and a waiting period of over a minute before realizing Flowey either didn’t run off inside to hide away, or he was completely ignoring your existence.

“Flowey?” You called, trying the handle again. Surprisingly, it was suddenly unlocked and you were far too eager to open the door fully.

 

Taking a step inside, the warmth was inviting, comforting, and there was a very enjoyable smell of honey and sweetness that floated about the home. You fully stepped inside to give the main entryway a good look around. There were, like the rest of the ruins you explored, vines stretching out along the walls and floors, including the ceiling, but it was all meant as an attempt to keep the place together. You noted that the vines were only stretching over the areas with cracks, or replacing missing floorboards.

Right as you had entered there was a set of stairs that lead downwards to, what you assumed was, the basement level of the household. _This was Flowey’s home?_

The moment you removed your backpack and set it on the floor, the door behind you slammed shut.

The slam made your body jump from surprise, spinning on your heel to look at what had caused it. You didn’t even get a chance to try the handle before green vines and leaves grew and spread over the entire door, like an infection that you were worried was contagious. You didn’t dare try and see if you could still open it, you instead yanked your bag from the floor and hugged it close while backing away. If you had been too close to the door, it would’ve probably caused another grab and squeeze event to occur, and this time (from the notice of _thorns_ on the little tendrils along the door) it would have actually killed you.

 

With a sigh, you held your backpack as if it were a stuffed animal, looking around the silent home…

That suddenly wasn’t at all that silent.

 

“I don’t think I mind you in my playground, not one _bit_.”


	5. Invited To Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You’ll never come back._
> 
> **“You idiot.”**  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >EDIT:: A Great friend of mine, Pharaoh-Ink, was awesome enough to make [fanart from this chapter!](http://sta.sh/01rn36z8t6un)  
> >We had just met actually cuz they are also a huge fan and I'm super duper honored when amazing people find me and wanna talk ;w;  
> > Thank you so much for sharing your talents with me!

###  **Chapter Five:** ** _Invited To Play_**

The voice was coming from the room to your right, since you were facing the door. And you sure as hell knew who it was.

You had convinced yourself, and maybe him, that you weren’t afraid of him and yet here you were… pondering whether to yank at the thorny vines and run off to freedom or to stay put inside of Flowey’s house to talk.

 

You got what you wanted…

_Now you lose what you had._

 

You tried to hum a melody in your head as you slowly turned to face the doorway to the other room. You took your time to enter, even taking off your jacket to hang on the small coat rack, however you weren’t bothering to remove your heavy boots. Who knew what could happen in there, after all. Flowey was completely random, and it’d do him some good to try and attack your shoes only for his vines to break from their reinforced steel-toed accessories (you were smiling too proudly at the thought of it).

Finally you entered the room, and it looked like a pretty comfortable family room of sorts. There was a large dining table to the left of the room near the wall, three chairs around it and a vase full of freshly picked golden flowers. There was one large chair right by the fireplace, that you were surprised had fire roaring within it all things considered... and beside the fireplace was a bookshelf, though there weren’t many books--it was mostly letters similar to the ones you had landed on before, and the ones Flowey had to reorganize due to your invasion of his privacy. The floorboards were cracked, like the other room a few were covered in plant matter as an attempt to fix it, but right at the flooring where the bookshelf and chair met was a large gaping hole that flowey had managed to poke his head out of. He had one vine stretching out to place envelopes onto the bookshelf, back and forth, with a small pile in front of him. He looked rather calm for someone who had almost killed you and then ran away.

 

You swallowed back your pride “Hi.”

 

Flowey slowed his movements for just a moment, but then continued to organize his letters while muttering “Hello, _friend._ ”

 

You couldn’t help but scoff a bit at his words. Maybe he didin’t exactly understand the term _‘friend’._ “Oh,” You retorted, rather gently even though you were starting to get angry again “I didn’t realize that we were friends, considering you don’t really act like one.” When Flowey simply continued to put away all of his letters, you wondered what else to say to him. There wasn’t much you were in the mood to talk about, to be honest you were ready to force yourself into a bedroom and crash-- hoping that Flowey did have a bedroom, and that was just assuming that Flowey actually slept. Why the hell you were thinking about sleeping in the home of a crazy flower _monster_ was beyond you, however your tired brain and sore body were simply alerting you to find a place to rest… apparently they didn’t care about your safety.

“It all makes sense now.” You finally added “Why Frisk didn’t want to talk about what was down here and why the underground was sealed off. Because you’re here, and you’re always easily set off and just ready to… well… attack anyone on sight. Isn’t that right?”

Flowey kept putting away the letters, completely unphased by your words. You even felt a sting of regret from saying such things, but your mouth made you persistent “Flowey, why are you _really_ down here? Why didn’t you come to the surface forever and a half ago like everyone else?”

“It was the right thing to do.” He said simply, finally having finished putting the letters away and he turned his head to look into the fire. _You hoped he wasn’t suicidal._

“Do you really think you’re dangerous enough to keep yourself down here like this?” You asked, and Flowey gave a little snort at the question “You said it yourself, _dumbass_ . You’re a witness to what I can do.” He kept himself facing the fire, as if not caring what you did at this point. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering you _really_ thought that recliner seat looked comfortable. As if on cue though he looked to you rather quickly, forcing you to not take the seat close to him... but to take the seat at the dining table. Okay, not _actually_ forcing you, you just got scared from the sudden attention and figured it would be best to keep a safe distance.

“You’re not getting out of here anytime soon…” Flowey added, looking away again and returning to staring at the fire “So I guess if you wanted some history, I wouldn’t mind.”

Some history? You wondered curiously to yourself at what he meant by that, though suddenly you found yourself itching to write something down. While the mood was mellow and calm, maybe you could take advantage of this. “You’re saying… you wouldn’t mind an interview?” You asked, almost too excited as you set your bag down beside your leg and pulled out your notebook. Flowey gave a little shrug of the leaves that sat on either side of their main stem, the vine that were putting away letters slowly retracted into the earth where he remained. You clicked your pen, and then paused.

 

Time for the _important_ question.

 

“Um… actually…” You cleared your throat, and Flowey’s gaze shifted. Not enough to look at you again, but enough to tilt his head as you continued “Could I sit near the fire? I kind of want to be face to face with you… if that’s alright?”

“What’s stopping you?” Flowey’s tone sounded somewhat more cheery then, and as you carried your things and sat in the large recliner, you practically melted into the chair from how comfortable it was. You let out a sigh of content, Flowey noted this and asked almost in a teasing manner “Comfy~?”

“Very, thanks.” You replied with a rather quick nod of your head. You adjusted the notebook onto your lap and clicked your pen again. It wasn’t until you were relaxed that you realized how worn out your body was. And it wasn’t until you were focusing on yourself that you realized you had to pay attention to Flowey, lest he decide to spontaneously attack you for no reason again. Being this close to him made you uncomfortable, but the comfy seat counteracted the feeling, leaving you somewhat confused. Flowey was simply staring at you, expectantly and waiting. “Ready? I don’t like repeating myself so I hope you’re a fast writer.”

“My job is to research, write, interview…” You describing yourself sounded so boring, it wasn’t even a proper description for an archaeologist… it was like you were describing a typical desk job reporter...or Frisk. You cleared your throat and finished “And explore. So I think I can handle a fast talker.” Flowey smirked at the response, nodding your way with sudden interest _“Right._ Well… let’s begin.” His smile never broke as he started off with “I’ll have you know I should be dead.”

 

Good thing you weren’t drinking coffee, or you would’ve spat it out all over the flower. _“What?”_

 

“I shouldn’t be alive.” Flowey said, still staring at you with his beady black eyes, that tiny smile of his, as if he didn’t understand why you looked completely dumbfounded. You were certain that your emotion and feelings were planted on your face from how negative he had sounded, but Flowey didn’t seem to care at all as he proceeded “Back then, back when Frisk was wandering down here… I was someone else. I was someone who, well, was quite _hungry_ . Which is the simplest way to put it considering your tiny, _tiny_ brain.”

“I’ll keep that off the record.” You decided to sassily reply as you wrote down all he had to say, excluding the insult. Flowey carried on, his words almost slurred as if he were bored already, as if he had told his story too many times to count. “I remember who I was even before that… because Frisk showed me who I was. I used to be a monster, just like everyone else who was down here… but then I was, well, _this._ ” He gestured to himself with a small vine that came from the dirt, and then it slowly laid itself down on the floorboard, the tip resting at your boot. You eyed it for a second as if mentally daring the vine to attack your steel-toed shoes, but then you continued writing as he continued talking. “I don’t have a soul, I have... _trouble_ feeling things, feeling anything…Or I suppose it wouldn’t necessarily be considered lacking of feelings, moreso failing to understand what certain feelings are.”

“With no soul, you become selfish… but with a soul you become selfless...I might’ve sacrificed a lot for everyone to get out, but because I sacrificed so much… it was safer for me to stay down here. Me and Frisk agreed…”

He sighed then, and for a moment you saw a tinge of sadness over his face. “And I guess they had to eventually tell Papyrus one way or the other. And that lead to the letters.” Flowey looked over to them, though you figured he was trying to hide it, there was a comforting smile on his lips as he mentioned “Papyrus is the head of this _Flowey Fan Club_ , it’s totally dumb… but he insists on sending me one letter every day, usually every morning.” He looked back to you, his smile faded “That’s when I found you, reading one of my letters. You were a few hours late but, if you had been awake you would’ve probably saw the letter drop. I try not to be around during those times, meeting old _friends_ is kinda… well…” He gave a weak grin “Lame.”

 

“What do you mean by sacrifice?” You tried to change the subject back to Flowey, not caring all too much about who sent the letters and why. “Are you saying that you’re the one who broke the barrier? Not Frisk?”

“Well, yeah.” Flowey shrugged again “But it was with Frisk’s help… if it wasn’t for them, I probably would have killed everyone instead.”

You swallowed, but also tried to ignore that, even though you wrote it down “How’d you do it?”

 

“It was said that to get through the barrier, a monster and human soul had to fuse and become one.” Flowey let his leaves slowly hold hands as if to use it as an example “The last time I… well, the old me... _he_ got out the underground, he fused his soul with a humans, only to be a dumbass and come back to die. He could’ve saved them then but, he didn’t… he was a coward.” His words started to grow cold, but you kept writing. “I could have done the same, but… well, it’s much more _fun_ getting rid of everyone, monsters and humans alike. That and, another timeline I had already failed just using 6 stored human souls… I knew I needed more, the moment Frisk spared me and reset, I knew I needed more power.” You could feel Flowey’s gritty smile aimed at you, and you half assumed that he didn’t necessarily mean this. Flowey, deep down, probably wanted to save everyone as much as Frisk did...but you refused to look up as he went on. “The world is cold and cruel, my only goal was to leave it empty. In order to turn into... _him..._ I had to absorb not just every monster soul in the underground, but every human soul-- well, except Frisk’s… it was _still in use.”_

You finally looked up, and Flowey was simply weaving and bobbing their head around like some cheerful gumdrop cutie, though behind that face you knew there was a controlled chaos waiting to snap. He snickered “Frisk… _saved_ me… so in order to save them, I broke the barrier with the power I had left. I knew I’d turn back into this _soulless plant_ once I gave everyone’s soul back… Frisk knew too… we both agreed that, for the safety of everyone, I’d have to stay. I guess that’s why I know what feelings are, I can tell when I’m feeling something, why I’m feeling it, but it’s difficult to understand or connect to such feelings, get my drift? Textbook sociopath.”

A part of you didn’t even know if he was telling the truth, but you had to believe him. He then asked “But what’s your story for being here, friend? Mine’s so old and worn out, it’s so boring.”

 

“Mine is too.” You said with a soft sigh, not sure why you were bothering to tell a flower how you wound up underground “Frisk didn’t want me coming down here for… well the reason’s obvious now, for you.” You looked at him, and he simply remained curious as you continued “They said it was dangerous but I didn’t listen, and so my rope snapped on the way down, I broke my arm and ankle which still hurts, and was almost killed twice by a balcony and a plant.”

“Wow, tough luck, _kid.”_ Flowey muttered bluntly.

“Shitty luck is more like it.” You snorted, rolling your eyes at him. He then tilted his head and smiled, though his words weren’t as concerned as his features “I may not be able to reset or load save files anymore, but I sure as hell can still cut up wandering dumbasses like you~” Suddenly his words were as cold as his eyes “Tell me the _real_ reason you’re down here.”

“That’s really it.” You said in your defense, showing how unphased you were by his sudden change in character. His ‘signature’ creepy face had appeared as quick as his attitude adjusted. “I’m here for research, and until I can get back home that’s what I’m going to be doing; researching.”

“You’ll probably find a lot more in Doctor Alphys’ lab than wandering around the ruins, then.” Flowey said, his face returning to normal as he snickered “Not sure if you’ve heard of her--”

 

Oh god, the _hentai._

 

“--but she was the royal scientist while down here. She did all the experiments and, well, even made me.” Flowey wiggled his nonexistent hips.

“How’d she make you?” You dared to ask, and he stopped wiggling to reply quickly “Injected DETERMINATION into a soulless plant. I’m the perfect answer to _“what if you have no soul and give no fucks but you still don’t wanna die?”_

“Oh.” You answer. “So like… what if you didn’t care but... still did.”

 

What separated sociopaths from psychopaths were how sociopaths were quick to snap and not hold remorse for their actions, always blaming someone else for their own problems. They were actually full of emotions, and it was mostly difficult for them to hold their feelings back like most humans could. Bipolarism was almost a similar case, at the bring of sociopathy with all things considered. The drastic mood swings, manic modes, the only difference between those two mental disorders was the fact that while those with bipolarism had few manic moments, sociopaths tended to have them more. If Flowey was truly claiming to be sociopathic, this would make the underground all the more dangerous. What if he was simply bipolar? That may be easier to handle.

“Why ignore your friends words though?” Flowey then added calmly, distracting you from your psychological thought process and practically wiping it clean as he looked you over “Frisk warned you, and yet you came down here anyway… they probably want to pretend that I never existed.”

You stammer “That’s not true, Frisk hasn’t forgotten about you… they probably didn’t want to mention you for the sake of keeping me safe, maybe even for the sake of keeping you safe too. They were just worried you would be like _this_ so they warned me not to go underground, and yet here I am because I thought they were just being overbearing…”

Thinking back to the sociopathic idea, and the wonderment of Flowey perhaps not enjoying company after being alone for so long… a realization occurred in that moment, and you decided to just let it out with a faint sigh “Now I’m wondering, Flowey… did you break the rope so I couldn’t leave? Or so you could kill me?”

 

You look to Flowey as he stared right at you, a smile stuck on his face almost uncomfortably. Like a creepy broken toy that didn’t know how to respond. He looked like he was simply trying to figure out a way to fight back, trying to defend himself, and you knew that now was probably the perfect time for him to crack open his inner demon once again. Well, _good thing your seat was comfortable._

 

“Well, whenever you _go back to where you came from_ just let Frisk know I’m doing a whole lot better now than I was when people were around.” He suddenly hissed, his teeth showing, and his face turning almost animalistic as he snarled “ _I’ll never be him!_ I don’t need anyone and I... I’m better off alone! You shouldn’t have even tried to come down here, idiot!” He growled, his vines seemed to wriggle and smack around the hole he had created in the flooring for himself, and you were pulling a bit back into your comfy seat to try and not get whipped in the legs. The golden flower was breathing heavily as he continued to yell “I hate them…! I hate everyone! I hate _YOU!_ Why can’t everyone **just die!”**

You knew this tactics all too well in the short amount of time you’ve gotten to know him, he was getting defensive, changing the subject, trying to not admit to his wrong doings-- trying to blame someone else for his own actions. He was a hero who lived with regret because instead of being rewarded for his good deeds he was _banished to live alone underground._

The difference between you and Frisk, who probably could have handled being yelled at better than anyone you knew, was that they would fight without using anger and fists. They were, after all, the ambassador, the peacekeeper, you of course had too many emotions to deal with people, let alone _flowers,_ yelling and screaming at you. You fought back with a snap. “Then why didn’t you kill me?!” You blurted out, slamming your notebook shut with one hand and clicking your pen closed as if you were preparing to stab him, but you simply shoved it onto your notebook in your lap. “If you want me dead so bad you sure as _fuck_ keep missing out on good opportunities!”

 

Maybe that wasn’t the best idea, considering it only made things worse. You didn’t get another word in before the tantrum appeared.

Flowey screamed out suddenly, a loud and terrifying scream that almost sounded like a siren blaring. You braced your chair as if you would fly out from how loud he shrieked, but even as he wailed and threw his tantrum, you noted the tears that welled up in his red eyes.

 

_Flowey was crying._

 

**“Fuck. YOU!”** He added, sinking into the earth and disappearing.

“Dammit, Flowey! You can’t keep running like this!” You called after him, even pushing out of the chair to get on your knees and peek into the hole in the floor. There was dirt there, but that was it, nothing but the absence of him.

As per usual, you were left alone to your own thoughts.

 

You lifted back up and simply rested on your knees for a moment, trying to let your mind wrap around all that had happened. It only took you a couple or five minutes to recover, returning to sitting in the recliner to fix up your notes with the click of your pen. Adding reactions, adding little things about Flowey, before you were officially worn out as you stood up.

 

Hell, it was _his fault_ you were stuck underground, he didn’t _deny_ (nor did he confirm but _hello_ guilty until proven innocent) that he tried to kill you with the rope. It only made sense… last thing you remember is it giving way, and it definitely didn’t snap.

 

Carrying your belongings back to the front door, you noticed that it was still covered in thorny vines, disallowing you to leave even though Flowey had ran off again. Was he forcing you to stay? “ _God, Flowey…_ ” You breathe out tiredly, looking down the hall to see that there were actual bedroom doors within your line of sight. Your heart skipped a few beats as you wandered down, careful to step over the loose floorboards and to walk over the vines that you were certain would drag you under at this point. One of the bedroom doors was obviously locked, considering a vine had wrapped itself around the doorknob to keep you from opening it. You wandered further down to find another bedroom, as soon as you tested the door to unlock it, you quickly stepped inside and shut it behind you.

The bedroom was empty, however cleaned up and dusted like the rest of the home. Vines reached through nooks and crannies just to hold the ceiling and the floors together. All that remained in the depressing room was a desk and chair, a huge bed that looked queen sized, and an empty bookshelf and dresser. Setting your backpack near the bed, you dragged your heavy feet to the dresser to look through it. Unsurprisingly, you found nothing. The room was a sad shade of blue, a hue that fit the tone of your aftermath with the flower. The room probably belonged to someone before Flowey decided to make the house his own. At least you figured such, the thought of Flowey building his own house made you force down a cold laugh.

“If you keep me here, I expect to be treated as a guest.” You raised your voice and spoke rather sternly, though you were the only one to hear yourself as you made yourself comfortable at the edge of the bed. You bounced on it a bit, before bending down to unlace your shoes and release your feet. Your _everything_ was aching, you really wanted to lie down. Was it safe to fall asleep at a place like this, though?

Well, looking about, you didn’t see a big hole where Flowey could fully pop in at, so you did your best to push the negative thoughts aside. This was all a dumb idea, but you insisted that you needed to rest somewhere, and while Flowey was gone it might as well be at his place. You fully slid onto the bed, on top of the sheets for the sake of not wanting to know what was under them, if there were anything. With an arm over your eyes, you sighed out softly, closing your lids and letting yourself at least lay awake with your eyes shut for awhile. You were nervous, your body was sore and worn out but your mind was racing. Would you ever get home? What will Frisk think when they find out?

 

Why is Flowey being such a--

* * *

 

_You opened your eyes._

 

The underground was cold, wet, and you felt so small compared to it all. As excited as you imagined you would have been before, suddenly everything was overwhelming. The darkness of the underground entrance made you too afraid to keep going-- you had to run back! With a turn of your shoes you stumbled back, trampling the small circle of golden flowers, following the light at the end of the tunnel. You hadn’t realized how easy it was to just leave everything behind. To simply escape and get out, and you managed to make it outside into the warm light, sighing in content at the sight of the bright blue sky over your head.

The birds sang, the flowers and grass swayed with the gentle breeze, its whistling past your ear tickling your senses as you gave a little twirl in the light. _It was so easy to just leave things behind when they were so hard to deal with. Right mom?_

_Right dad?_

Your friend was a child, just like you, and they hurried close to you when they caught sight of you. They practically bounced excitedly your way in their blue blouse. Their face static like a television, though suddenly _she smiled at you_ , the shiny red ball in her hands, and was presenting you the toy.

 

“Thanks!” You said, your voice squeakier than you expected it to be. _How old were you? How old are you? What is your name?_

 

_“Let kids be kids. Better than them staying inside the house all day.”_

_“Well yes but I don’t want them to think THEY exist--”_

 

“I’m gonna go on a hike.” She added, suddenly pointing to the mountain while balancing on her toes. You didn’t recall it being so close to where you two played, but suddenly it was right there, a hop- skip- jump away just to reach the florally decorated path. “It builds leg strength, my ballet instructors said I should build up leg muscle.”

“But hikes are boring.” You whined.

 

_Please don’t go._

 

She continued anyway “Wanna come?”

 

_You’ll never come back._

_“You_ **_idiot.”_ **

 

“...but hikes are boring.” You whined again, for some reason you were smiling so happily. Your pearly whites revealed, grinning from ear to ear. Finally taking the ball from her hands, you squeezed onto it so tightly that the rubber skid over your fingertips, making the same noise as a balloon being rubbed. Your smile was stuck, you couldn’t express how you truly felt… but your eyes welled up with tears. _Your smile was stuck, but you cried._

Suddenly she slid her tutu up to her hips, humming happily as she frolicked away.

 

_You didn’t see her again. She never came back._

 

Oh god… you…

It was _your_ fault… _you_ let her go, _you let her fall alone…_

 

“I-I killed her.” You murmured to yourself.

 

Murderer.

_“Now they’ll surely think that--”_

_“No, their friend went on vacation, that is what we will tell them.”_

 

_“I’m not dumb!”_

 

Suddenly a comforting hold wrapped around you as your tears continued to fall. You choked down your sobs, trying to contain yourself as you admitted too loudly “I barely remember her face but… she was one of the kids that never came back. She was my friend and I just… I let it all happen to her alone.”

_“Children are all weak in the beginning…”_ A voice said, the voice that embraced you in a small but gentle hug. You saw no physical form holding you, so you safely assumed that it held you with their words _“You didn’t know any better. You didn’t think she would die.”_

“But she still did.” You breathed out, gasping as the squeeze tightened. But you didn’t mind it, you just wanted to be held. The voice agreed _“She still did, yes… but it wasn’t your fault…”_

_“You were a pawn… you were played…”_

_“We are all played by something, or by someone…”_

_“You were naive… it’s okay…”_

 

_“You know better now…”_

 

Your mind faded, you felt like something was tugging at your chest. In a soft breath you saw a heart, the colors changed-- from red to green and all the shades in between-- the heart was a rainbow spectrum as it glimmered before you. Your _SOUL_ ... It was being pulled, and you didn’t know why. It felt like your soul was being yanked out of your chest. _“You’re so determined to explore… in a world that’s taken so much…”_ The voice seemed so true… so certain that they knew who you were. Your soul was tugged at again.

_“Isn’t it so much easier to let go? To give in?”_

_“To just give up all your relationships? People are so difficult to be around…”_

 

You remember it always being hard to connect with anyone after your friend had left you, she never came back, why would anyone else?

You befriended Frisk… but you never invited them over or tried to hang out with them or their friends… _work, you had to work--_

 

_“No friends… you were so afraid they would leave you too...”_

_“No real family.... Because your parents hated you.”_

 

_“It’s no wonder your soul doesn’t know what it even is. Forever changing, forever confused~”_ The warm embrace only tightened even more, causing you to gasp as the distant words filled you. It felt as if someone, something, was reaching deep inside of you, either pushing or pulling. Your body ached. A black fog-like tentacle looked to wrap itself around the shining heart, giving it a tight grip. From this action you felt a strange hold on you, and you tried not to make a sound as it was toyed and played with. Teased… the thing was _teasing you._ It was so good yet so bad… _why did it feel good yet feel so bad?_

_“You never cared for yourself, you cared about things around you so much you always ignored your own needs… drowning yourself in work, and you hated everyone. You wanted everyone to die, you didn’t think so at first… but after awhile your hatred grew and before you knew it you were willing to kill them--”_

 

_“That’s… not me. You don’t know me.”_ You finally heard your own voice let out a call, immediately the heart yanked itself from the tendril just to return to your chest. Your soul returned, no longer being tugged. You felt relief… _longing, but relief._

_“I was alone but happy… I was alone but I was happy!”_

 

Happiness was all that really mattered, right? So long as you stayed DETERMINED to be happy even in your lonesome it would all be okay. You yelled, the world crumbling, the distant voice and the comforting embrace wavered as you cried out _“I didn’t need to prove anything…! I didn’t need to show I was right or wrong-- I didn’t need to do anything to anyone because I was alone and I knew who I was--”_ You smiled, you were practically laughing as your world shattered and you were left in the dark _“I’m not a bad person but I know I’m not a good one either… but it doesn’t matter who or what I am so long as… so long…”_

Your tears were blinding you. You tasted a sweetness on your tongue.

 

_“So long as I stay_ **_DETERMINED_ ** _, I can be whoever I want to.”_

 

_“I’m making up for all I did or didn’t do.”_

_“...please, whoever you are stay DETERMINED!”_

_“You don’t need to do this!”_

 

Your hand disappeared before your very eyes, suddenly the comforting voice breathed out lazily _“It’s over…”_

 

_“If all you are is determined, and nothing else… you’re just as inhuman as me.”_

 

You gasped as the world went grey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >And if anyone ever has any fanart or work they would like to share please feel free to leave a comment and I would be more than happy to edit the chapter it's dedicated to and share it as well!


	6. And So Was He

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the underground, adventurer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Lime.  
> > -sniffles at its beauty-
> 
> >Also I'm testing formats here, if it works then... I am so excited for the future chapters.

###  **Chapter Six:** ** _And So Was He_**

  _“_ _I don’t think I mind you in my playground, not one bit.”_

  _Y̶o̸u̴r̷ ̵e̵y̶e̶-̸s̸o̸c̵k̶e̴t̸s̴ ̷w̵e̸r̸e̴ ̸f̸i̷l̸l̸e̸d̵ ̶w̴i̴t̵h̸ ̴g̴o̵l̶d̸e̴n̶ ̴f̸l̵o̴w̶e̴r̸ ̷p̸e̵t̴a̷l̸s̷,̵ ̷y̷o̵u̸ ̷w̴a̵t̸e̷r̷e̵d̶ ̵t̸h̴e̸m̶ ̷w̶i̵t̸h̸ ̵y̴o̷u̷r̴ ̸t̷e̷a̷r̷s̶.̵_

 

As soon as you open your eyes, you could feel how swollen they were. The petals had vanished as if they were a dream, and you were staring tiredly up at the ceiling.

A stray tear fell down your cheek, leaving your skin feeling singed, and you quickly lifted your arm to wipe it away. After all this time of fighting it down, you remembered _her_ in a dream(Or even nightmare). Your friend, one of the many children that vanished into the underground. How close you were to joining her, _how much you wish you had_ … back then, there was no monster history. There were legends and rumors and stories, but there was no proof of magic let alone monsters being banished underground.

What made you believe then? The thought that something, someone, _HAD_ to have found your friend and taken them away from you. Did that motivate you?

Did you want to learn more about them from revenge? Or was it really just curiousity?

You recalled your own parents wanting to keep you from your dreams; they were persistent in telling you how wrong you were as a child until the day Frisk walked with the monsters down the streets. Even as your family tore apart and, funny, your parents stopped all communications with you when you ran off to college… you were DETERMINED to keep going.

You had no reason to prove people wrong or right, because the facts were there, in the flesh and bone.

 

You took a moment to realize you were under the blankets of the bed, shifting slightly as your eyes glanced downward over yourself. You couldn’t remember when you had fallen asleep, let alone climbed under the covers.

There was a sudden glimmer under your shirt beneath the blankets. Looking down quickly again, you reacted immediately and lifted your shirt to peek at your chest, only to find that the strange light had faded. Whatever it was, it was gone now-- but you wondered if it had anything to do with your dream.

 

_S̶h̵e̴ ̶a̸l̴w̴a̷y̶s̷ ̸d̸i̴d̴ ̴d̴a̵n̷c̶e̷ ̶b̸e̵t̵t̶e̷r̴ ̴t̶h̶a̷n̸ ̸y̷o̶u̵.̷_

 

With a small smile, you slowly sat up in the bed, realizing you were still in Flowey’s house. You didn’t know how long you had been sleeping, but apparently it was long enough to heal you up completely. Your arm, your ankle, your lip… there was no part of you that was sore anymore. Strange enough, even the callouses and blisters, the rope burn on your hands, had vanished as if it never even existed. A weight had been lifted off your shoulders and chest, you were pretty calm, and even felt tingly all over.

You swung your legs off the edge of the bed, throwing the covers off of you in the process. But before standing you found a plate on the floor beside your feet. It was a slice of pie.

You bent over to pick it up and bring it to your lap. The fork impaled at its center, you yanked it out with a piece of the top crust and filling.

Did Flowey make this for you? The thoughts of it being poisoned filled your head, but you still believed that deep down Flowey wasn’t so bad. He was trying to hide his feelings, but you wondered if (whether he agreed to stay underground or not) he was hurt that he didn’t get to go to the surface with everyone else. Even heroes felt regret from time to time, and maybe this pie was proof that he was upset the two of you kept fighting. You knew better than to fight fire with fire, but it turned into a yelling match… you never were much of a peacekeeper.

Or maybe the pie was just a trick. There was no real way to find out other than to take a bite. You smiled to yourself. Knowing the pie was probably poisoned, you took the bite anyway.

The instant it hit your tastebuds you weren’t sure what to make of the flavor-- but then you recognized it as french cuisine.

 

_...Escargot._

 

Never having been a fan of the stuff, you weren’t sure you wanted to finish it. However before you could set it back down your stomach protested to keep going, telling you that this was better than not eating anything at all. Reminding yourself that your rations were gone all in one day since they were dipped and sitting in mud yesterday(?), you push forward and ate the whole slice. You had to have something in your empty stomach after all, nothing more embarrassing than dying only your second day underground.

Well, there probably were things a bit worse perhaps(Or better).

Once you were full, you gently stood to your feet, leaving your boots and belongings in the room as you headed for the bedroom door to leave. Stepping into the hallway you were overwhelmed with the wonderful smell of sweets, and you decided to try and follow it. Wandering back to the living room, and then over towards the kitchen to see that, though it was lacking anyone there (or at least any flower), there were a few opened cookbooks along the counter, as well as two pies and a tray of cookies on the stove.

...did Flowey _really_ know how to bake?

You were tempted to start poking around and tasting some of the baked goods, however you forced yourself to simply place the empty plate into the kitchen sink. Trying the handle to the sink, to your dismay no water seemed to pour down, not even a droplet. You turned and exited the kitchen to return to the family room while still forcing your will to not eat the food scattered about the kitchen. The fire was still illuminating the area and keeping it as warm as the rest of the house, and it was comfortable and inviting if you ignored all the small spots where vines and plants grew and covered sections of the walls and floors. The warmth surrounding you, it made you think back to your dream. The comforting words, the hug, all turning tight and dark… the pie at the side of your bed, waking up to being under the blankets when you could have sworn you went to bed on top of them--

You were feeling a bit uncomfortable, were you overthinking it? You probably just got under the blankets while you were asleep due to the cold… maybe. It couldn’t have been _him._

 

Well, with Flowey not being anywhere in sight, you decided it was time to start browsing.

 

You went to the bookshelf and skimmed the titles of all the books, hoping there was something about monsterkind and their background. To your discomfort, they were all recipe books about cooking snails, and a few other books for cooking. You did surprisingly find a book about quantum physics-- you never took Flowey for a scientific character. Curiously pulling out the book and opening it, you snorted when it revealed a joke book inside instead, though opening the joke book revealed yet another book on quantum physics. You opened up said quantum physics books for there to be yet another joke book within. And then opening that showed another book on, well, quantum physics.

You looked at the camera unknowingly before closing the book and placing it back on the shelf.

 

_Well then._

 

You knew where the home was located, so you figured you could always go back to it. Flowey wasn’t around right now, and though you didn’t know where he would pop up next, you also didn’t want to sit around and find out. You were feeling a lot better, more refreshed and prepared. You returned to the bedroom you had crashed in and laced up your boots, grabbing your backpack(Which felt heavier than you remembered it to be, but you lugged it anyway).

Spotting the front door and noting the vines had vanished, you smiled to yourself. “Maybe we’ll start seeing some good luck.” You breathed a sigh of relief as you slipped your coat back on and opened the door to step out, shutting it behind you as you slid the bag onto your back. The plan for the moment was to go back and see if you could fix the rope. Maybe the other half fell from the hole, and it would allow you to tie them together and toss it back up? You knew it sounded stupid as you repeated the idea to yourself, but you had to go off of something. So far there were no actual ideas as to your escape plan, other than climbing back out the hole that was way too far to reach by normal means. You pondered the idea over and over again in your head while making your way back to where you had fallen before. There was electricity in the home, so backtracking to the areas that only held torches along the walls felt like being demoted; which you also still feared in the back of your mind. The thought of escaping only for Frisk to tell you they were so disappointed scared the daylights out of you, but you tried to set your priorities straight. _Think about your health and well being first, before your job._ Which was hard to do, considering your dream did have a point… you used your work to distract yourself from _other things that you didn’t even want to admit._

_With a past like yours though, could you really help it?_

 

After having made it back, you were startled to see the bobbing flower in the patch of sunlight, sticking its head higher than the rest. It must have been Flowey, but all he was doing was staring upward, as if waiting for something.

 

_“I don’t think I mind you in my playground, not one bit.”_

 

He was lonely. It was obvious, but he just didn’t want to admit how he really felt so he hid it behind anger, hatred, and violence. A flower with no soul, but it didn’t necessarily mean he lacked feelings, did it? There had to have been something there…

 

_“I’ll never be him!”_

 

Who was he actually referring to?

 

You were cautious with your approach, entering the cavern through the doorway and making silent footsteps in the dark. You thought you heard a distant echo bounce off the walls, though looking around, it was only you and Flowey. You then wondered if he was doing one of his weird tricks again, however you got close enough to hear him mumbling “Just throw the damn letter already, dumbass.”

“Huh?” You blurted out, covering your mouth as soon as Flowey’s head turned quickly to look your way. You were directly behind him, and though his head had turned fast as if surprised, his expression was more annoyed than shocked.

“Well good morning, _sunshine._ ” Flowey sounded more like he was forcing a peppy tone than actually feeling peppy himself, his attention wasn’t on you for long before he returned to looking upward. You joined him, suddenly watching a letter float down, as well as hearing more faint yelling from somewhere.

Was it from the hole?

Hope filled your heart as you quickly sprang upward. “Papyrus?!” You called out, slowly stepping into the patch of flowers. As the letter floated downward still, Flowey stretched himself out to catch it, ignoring you as you continued to yell up “PAPYRUS, IT’S ME!! _PLEASE_ CAN YOU TOSS ME THAT ROPE?!” You heard someone yell back, but the hole was so far up that you couldn’t see who was poking their head down, and you couldn’t even make out what they were even saying. You simply noted that the rope with the hook still swayed back and forth, and the other half was, well, down here with you.

“ _PAPYRUS!!_ ” You tried one more time, however this time no one yelled back.

“Sucks to suck.” Flowey snickered, over at his pile of letters he had reorganized yesterday when you two had first met. Glancing his way rather tiredly, you did your best to give him the angry stare down. However it didn’t do much, since he had already opened the letter and was reading it.

 _Choke on it, Flowey._ You mentally sneered at him, though suddenly something hard and pretty solid hit the back of your head, causing you to yell in pain as you fell forward and practically face planted into the golden flower bed. Lifting a hand to touch your head, you felt a lump forming in your hair, but you were thankful there wasn’t any blood as you looked up towards the hole again. “What the _hell?_ ”

Flowey popped up next to you, yanking whatever it was that hit your head “Oh, must be the spice Papyrus was talking about.” You were dumbfounded as Flowey studied the small glass bottle that had hit you, ignoring your well being entirely as he popped away again back to his letter pile.

“Why aren’t you helping me?!” You finally yelled at him, your voice raised as high as it had been moments ago when you were trying to get the mail carriers attention. It was obvious that the person was Papyrus, since that was clarified yesterday, but you couldn’t recognize their voice from how far the hole was from where you were. You carried on with a huff, your voice lowering “Can’t you just stretch up to get me out?!”

“Tsk.” Flowey clicked his tongue, his eyes skimming the letter with one hand(or leaf) and the other holding the tiny jar “That’s not how this works… that’s just not how _any_ of this works. But you tried, that’s all that matters.”

 _Deep breaths_ , you tried to calm down as you took one breath in, held it, then let it go. Getting mad at Flowey solved nothing, all that’d happen is him crushing you (or attempting to) and running away again. Yesterday you recalled even making him cry, which your heart was aching just from the memory of it. “Flowey…” You started attempt two “Is there any way, at all, to contact Papyrus? Or anyone on the surface?”

“Probably.” He responded too quickly for your liking “But last time I mentioned Dr. Alphys you seemed a bit flustered.”

 

_For good reason too, that you decided not to mention._

 

“There’s a phone or something there?” You asked, dragging yourself nearer to him. The sunlight was warm and calm, but it was also one direct beam, you were getting hot in all your layers. “Could you take me there?”

Flowey seemed to ponder over whether to agree to the idea of escorting you or not, however before he could finish you remembered the pie and being tucked into bed, and quickly added “Um… I thought I had slept above the blankets in your bed… but I found myself underneath them.”

 

The golden flower had suddenly paused their movements.

You couldn’t help but smile then “And...well, did you make that pie for me?”

Flowey apparently lost his train of thought, suddenly looking at you with wide eyes and blinking rather slowly. Totally ignoring what you had first said, he mumbled “....what pie?”

You relaxed, slowly kneeling yourself down in the dirt beside Flowey and his letters. The closeness seemed to have made Flowey lean away a bit “When I woke up there was a plate of, uh, snail pie at the bedside. In fact I saw a ton of random treats in the kitchen-- that I promise I didn’t eat.” You must’ve been dead on the mark, considering Flowey’s cheeks were suddenly a light shade of pink. He wasn’t even looking at you, his eyes were trained elsewhere. You hummed “It was delicious, and the bed was really comfortable. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t technically _let_ you.” Flowey retorted and looked back over your face, squinting his eyes at you “You kinda just decided to crash. I just… didn't mind it, is all.”

“Right.” You nodded and smiled softly, not wanting to mention that it was technically forced since Flowey had _locked the front door_ “Thank you, anyway.” Flowey was fumbling with the letter then, not reading it anymore but not putting it down. Probably just so that he could focus on something else other than you, but he finally set it down on his stack of other letters “Tch… whatever.”

 

There was a silence between the two of you, though you found it rather… nice. It was nice to not be yelling back and forth, and you did your best to not smooch the flower.

Reminder, _you did your very best to not smooch the flower._

 

Against your better judgement you did anyway, it was quick and gentle like before, gracing your lips on one of his many petals. This time however, Flowey didn’t seem to quickly retract from it, or vanish. He sat there, his petals almost cowering from your touch of affection, and even when you pulled away to see his reaction he only showed a blush on his face while gently tapping at the pile of letters, making sure they were in a neat stack.

“Is this going to be a _thing_ of yours?” He finally breathed out, almost sounding like it was through gritted teeth. You tilted you head thoughtfully “Probably. So long as you let me live, you get more.”

He snickered “Then I should just _kill you, huh?”_

You called his bluff “If you don’t like my kisses, then sure. If you do, then the longer I’m alive the more you get.”

It returned to silence again, and you mentally high fived yourself.

 

After a moment, he simply cleared his throat while staring downward, changing the subject as if everything before hadn’t happened “In some of the letters, there’s recipes Papyrus gives to me.” He lifted the tiny bottle of spice and shook it gently “Hence the spices. Sometimes he’ll toss down a boxful. It’ll get all over the place but they’re always usable.”

“Wow,” You were jutting out your bottom lip thoughtfully while listening. You never really thought of Papyrus’ food to be… well… amazing. Of course you only ever had it once, there were a few times at work where if Toriel had no time to make Frisk’s lunch or they didn’t make their own, then Papyrus would apparently have spaghetti(It was literally. Always. Spaghetti.) prepared for them. You saw it a few times, having gotten accustomed to Toriel’s cooking, seeing the spaghetti made you curious and Frisk ‘dared’ you to try it. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. In the end you only had his spaghetti once before passing whenever Frisk offered more.

Neither good nor bad, but then again it was the same mixed feeling you had when eating the slice of escargot pie. You decided to be blunt “Isn’t Papyrus… um… not that great of a cook?”

Flowey snorted, looking at you then “His food stinks, but he still has potential. You’d be surprised how many other timelines he’s actually done well for himself. Five star _chef_ well.” Flowey almost sounded as if he were bragging about Papyrus, which was admittedly adorable. For a flower who ‘hated everyone’, wanted everyone to die, he was pretty close to Papyrus. He even complimented the skeleton without realizing it.

You lifted a hand to rub your cheek, now your eyes lowered down to the stack of letters as you tried to think over the thought of timelines. There it was again, that word... “Timelines?”

“Yeah. Not the intertwining of different spaces of time, but alternate universes and parallel worlds disconnected from each other. It’s not as _generic_ as time control.”

Maybe this was why he had the quantum physics book at his place. You had no idea what he was talking about. “Uh, I don’t think I get that.”

Flowey snorted, looking away smugly “And you never will. Like I said, you’re not the main character so there’s really nothing either of us can do about it. You don’t need to worry your _pretty little head about a thing._ ”

 

There definitely was more you wanted to know, but you were already having trouble wrapping your head around his words. He had mentioned this more than just a couple times to you, so you really needed to know what it meant. **SAVE** … **RESET** … what did all of that mean, and what did it have to do with a story, or being the main character of something? All you could think about was the idea of someone writing a book about one person, though finding out all along it was about someone else. You mentally shrugged, trying to hide your confusion even though it was planted on your face.

 

“Anyway…” Flowey decided to carry on, probably realizing how your brain was shutting down “There’s more than just the ruins underground... if you really want my help, then we’re going to have to leave this place.” He stuck out his tongue “The exit to get out the ruins is in the basement of my house.”

You felt somewhat annoyed that you had backtracked just to be told you needed to turn around. But it couldn’t be helped, and Flowey didn’t seem to say anything else other than winking your way and sinking into the earth. He took his spices with him, leaving his letters neatly stacked in their usual form. There wasn’t much time for you to think things through anymore, you had to move forward. That itchy feeling of having stayed in one area too long made you in a rush to get somewhere new, and Flowey was apparently your only way out. Your enemy and your friend, _frienemy._

 

Giving the hole above you one last glance-- the wave of sadness from the fact that it was so close and yet so far-- you turned around and walked all the way back to Flowey’s house, entering with ease and deciding not to distract yourself with wandering around the home again. There wasn’t much else that needed to be explored, except for the locked bedroom, though you suspected you wouldn’t be getting inside anytime soon. With a disheartened sigh you headed for the basement stairs. You weren’t sure when Flowey would arrive to guide you out, but you reached the basement floor and pressed your feet down into the plush ground. Soft and somewhat plump earth, you noted that it probably wasn’t exactly a basement as you walked down the long and rather narrow hall. You were concerned that it went on forever, however soon enough you spotted two large doors, wide open and waiting for you.

“Flowey?” You called out, though your voice was light and almost hesitant as you approached the open purple doors. Looking them over, you continued through and kept walking forward rather carefully, already concerned that the lights were beginning to dim the farther down you went. The path eventually lead to a brick doorway, and past said doorway was another bright beam of sun shining down on a large circle of grass. And in said grass, Flowey smiled almost too patiently, waiting for you.

 

“Hiya friend!” He said almost with a chirp, smiling still as you approached. You were looking around the darkened cavern with concern, though eventually you returned to focusing on the flower before you. The beam of sunlight was warm, but of course since it was so direct it caused you to get rather hot too quickly. You didn’t back away though, Flowey was too focused on you as much as you were him, last thing you wanted was to accidentally cause him to get angry. “Past this door leads to the rest of the underground.” Flowey looked back towards the second set of purple double doors, similar to the doors before that were already wide open. He sighed “It’s basically like a straight line all the way to Alphys’ lab, so it won’t be so bad.” He looked back to you then, his smile somewhat shrinking “Are you ready?”

The look on his face made you worry, but you gave yourself a look over as if making sure you really were prepared for what lied ahead. Backpack with medical supplies, your gear, a busted cellphone and a pocketful of miracles-- check! The cavern the two of you were in was warm thanks to the sun, however there was a rather cold chill that seemed to blow directly at you, as if it were coming from the door. It felt almost like a winter breeze, soothing because of the humidity from the ruins, but also an unwelcomed cold that you definitely were not properly dressed for. You shivered, but you couldn’t tell whether it was a shiver of anticipation or from the cold. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” You managed with a small smile, returning the expression to Flowey who, surprisingly, turned away fast when you looked back to him. He mumbled “Alright… well…”

With two vines slowly growing from the Earth beside him, they stretched out to the doors and practically threw them open. And with it, a huge gust of wind flew in your direction. You breathed out, swallowing down the freezing air, and your body instantly forming goosebumps along your skin. Opening your eyes to the piles of snow on the other side, and the bits of snowflakes that flew into the room you remained planted in, your body stiffened at how cold it looked and felt there. It was like staring into a Winter Wonderland, the trees had died, snow coated the earth, and the air felt so fresh. It was so strange, how one room felt like Spring and suddenly you would be walking right into Winter.

 

“Welcome…” Flowey hummed in content, however something had made them pause.

You felt his eyes fixated on you, studying for your reaction, but your own eyes were looking ahead through the double doors. It was a strange rush, a part of you fearful for what’s to come, another part of you overwhelmed by the sights before you. Flowey eventually spoke up again, his voice almost breathless as if he had seen something he hadn’t in such a long time. Like an old spirit witnessing something new.

 

_“Welcome… to the Underground, adventurer.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >I've been told that some folks don't like it when it gets fluffy too soon but.  
> >yolo amirite


	7. You Tasted Treason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “...After all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Tsundere Flowjo in the hizzouse~
> 
> >I don't think I need to really warn anyone about lime. I'll still to lemon warnings instead.

###  **Chapter Seven:** ** _You Tasted Treason_**

With the gust calming down, leaving nothing more than a fresh cool breeze in its stead, you felt your breath had been taken away. Such a discovery-- a world where it felt like walking from Spring to Winter just a door away. Your fear had somewhat turned into excitement, the need to explore and adventure overwhelming your mind as your curiousity was obviously planted on your face. Curiousity, wonderment, bliss. The unknown was just as terrifying as it was magical. Being mesmerized by the whole new world that lied ahead of you, your face expressed excitement and fear all rolled into one.

“Wow…” Flowey suddenly said, his eyes had never left you even after he had opened the door. You finally returned the look, noticing his perplexed and intrigued expression. “I’ve never seen someone react like that… you look pretty excited.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” You admitted, almost too giddily as you clasped your hands together in front of your chest. As excited as you were though, you stayed put, basically waiting for Flowey’s mark.

Flowey smiled somewhat at this, finally pulling his eyes away from you and using the petals on his head to give a nodding gesture towards the door “Ooookay~ Whatever~ Surface dwellers are  _ freaks  _ but I digress… “ He sighed “Just keep going ahead. We’ll meet up at the exit of Snowdin--”

 

You let out a noise that alerted him, the flower quickly looking back to you. Though he was bemused, he muttered rather annoyedly  _ “What.” _

“You’re um…” You tried to think of the best way to put your thoughts into words “You’re not going to travel with me?” 

 

Flowey stared at you, now he looked pretty disinterested “I’m a fucking flower.”

“So?”

“I want you to tell me how many flowers survive being planted in snow, I know you’ll need some time to think over that thought. But think about it, and then when you do, get back to me on that.”

You rubbed your hands together to keep warm, trying to figure something out “Look I know we’ve had our differences, but I could really use a guide right now. Not someone who just gives me directions and leaves me alone, I just need somebody to be with me.”

“Aw~” Flowey grinned, patting his own cheeks as he forced himself to blush “You’re lonely~? I’m so flattered~!” He continued smiling even after he turned away from you “So anyway just watch out for some parts of Snowdin, some snow will look shallow but you could wind up sinking into a big pile of it. And be careful of the ice it’s quite slippery--”

You frowned and audibly interrupted him again “Flowey…”

He side eyed you “Human, how about this.” He slowly turned himself back around to face you fully, and at that point you were already shivering from the chill of the other world. “Go as far as you can on your own, if you really need me just call. Like I said, voices carry when it’s this empty.” You realy wished there was some way for the two of you to travel together, but then you do wonder if it would be safer with him around anyway. 

As if reading your mind, Flowey added “Not to worry~ there’s no one else around but me. I’ve been down here for years and haven’t died if you noticed. Technically, the only thing you have to fear is dear old Flowey~! And you’re already failing at that so what else could go wrong?” He snickered then, winking and lifting a tendril to stretch up to your face. He let the tip of it brush over your cheek almost too delicately, it caused even more shivers to run down your spine; but you couldn’t tell whether they were good vibes or bad. The thought of what had happened a few hours ago flooded your mind, and maybe it was the flush on your face that caused Flowey to retract his vine from you. He simply muttered “Okay… Well, have fun!” Before sinking into the earth.

 

Well? What did he expect after going from 0 to 100  _ real quick _ ?

 

You stepped into the sun fully now that Flowey had vanished, warming up immediately and taking your time to absorb as much heat as you could, before you pushed onward. You were so used to Flowey all over the ruins that being alone felt abnormal, whether he was psycho or not. Then again, your case sounded a lot like stockholm syndrome, a violent and vicious (yet teasing and adorable) attacker keeps you wanting and needing them to the point of thinking you can’t handle the world without them. 

 

Maybe the two of you did need some… space.

 

“Alright…” You assured yourself with a firm nod, slowly stepping forward out the light. The warmth you had absorbed was already leaving your skin, and by the time you actually stepped through the doorway to the next world you were back to feeling that cold shiver all over your body. You trembled, goosebumps made their way over your skin as your hairs stood on end.

Flowey had called it Snowdin, you couldn’t tell whether that was a play on words or the actual name of the area. But other than the snow lying around, the area looked quite dark. There was only one path that implied for you to move forward, and the path was surrounded by tall trees. As you started to walk the cold and eerily silent walkway, you found yourself looking upward to at least see what sort of trees they were. However they were so tall that you couldn’t even see the treetops. And behind all the crowds of trees there was nothing but darkness. So far, you were cold, afraid, and rather exposed.

Flowey had told you that there was no one else but him around, so there was no need to be afraid to walk alone. But then again, Flowey was someone to surely be afraid of and even he confirmed this.

_ ‘...and you’re already failing at that so what else could go wrong?’  _ Flowey had told you moments ago. 

That was good, it meant that even though you still held a small fear towards the flower, apparently it wasn’t expressed well enough for Flowey to notice. This was good, right?

 

Eventually you reached a rickety bridge, at least it looked like it once you approached. The wood was worn down, frail, chipped, and nudging your foot carefully against it determined it was definitely a bit shaky. It was surely not safe to walk across, but from how large the gap was you couldn’t tell if there were any other options. Over the gap and bridge was a gate of sorts, to you it looked like a poor attempt at recreating the spirit gate from Japanese culture, a Torii. Walking through this symbolized stepping from one plane to the next, from the profane to the sacred… you weren’t certain whether this was what the builder had implied, or whether it was just a simple gate.

“Arm strength.” You told yourself aloud, flexing and prepping your arms in case you did manage to fall. You hoped to yourself that you would catch the edge of solid ground on time as you carefully made your way across. The moment you fully stepped onto it, the wood wailed and groaned beneath your boots. You wished you weren’t wearing such heavy equipment, and a smart idea suddenly occurred to you. Removing your backpack from your back, you tossed it all the way into the snow on the other side, and you continued to make it to the center of the bridge.

You’d think that Flowey would take care of the bridges here too, like you had assumed he had done from the small bridges in the ruins. Though the reminder that Flowey lectured you about not doing well in cold climates implied that Flowey probably did not visit this area much.

You were three quarters to the other side (which was good, that was close to a dollar) when your foot fell right through a plank, sending your whole leg plummeting into the bridge. Your pant leg tore with it, your leg showing scratches from where some of the sharp broken edges had scraped and pierced your skin on your way down. The half fall was so sudden that you didn’t even have time to yell out in fear, all you felt was the deep pain that made your nerves yell at your brain and heart. Your chest pounded, your leg throbbed, and your mind was wavering.

You squirmed and wriggled to try and climb out of the hole you had created, but it only caused the bridge to shake with your movements, making you to sit more still all the while trying to escape. Your leg was hurt, and now clawing at the bridge to lift yourself up, your fingers were taking in splinter after splinter before you finally managed to pull yourself and, deciding with a huff, crawled across the rest of the way. Making it right next to your backpack, you ignored the bridge collapsing completely behind you, pulling your backpack up and dragging it tiredly to the path before simply sitting down on the ground. Why did luck hate you so much that no matter what you did down here it wound up either attacking you or making inanimate objects fall from a simple touch? 

You opened up your bag, ignoring the unfamiliar package inside as you skimmed for your health kit. “Great.” You mumbled under your shaky breath, all the while pulling out bandage and things needed to fix up your scrapes and injuries. The way you had fallen, the long scratches looked as if you had been mauled by an animal with ferocious claws, or like you had yanked your leg out of the jaws of a great white shark. You didn’t have enough bandaids to simply cover all of your leg, so you decided to just spray some disinfectant and wrap the whole leg in gauze. It was the best you could do, you’d worry about splinters in your leg later. You slid the bag back on before lifting up and continuing forward, all the while plucking painful splinters out your fingers.

As much as you wanted to wander and explore a bit more, your body was already shivering uncontrollably now, your fingers were aching as much as your scraped leg, and you reminded yourself that Flowey told you to just keep going straight through.

 

Unlike the ruins where there were beams of sunlight shining down every now and again, in this part of the underground nothing could be seen so far up. It took on the appearance of eternal night time, and though there were tiny specks of light in the faint distance that you could manage to see, they resembled stars mostly… and the light was so miniscule that it didn’t shine down or reach the snowy ground. You kept pushing ahead, going straight as instructed, and then you reached a thick and large patch of ice.

It didn’t exactly catch you off guard from how large of a patch it was, however it didn’t stop your feet from skidding along it once you accidentally took the tiniest step at the edge. You slid leftward, frowning deeply the entire time as you attempted to wiggle in the other direction. Of course it wasn’t really working, but you tried nonetheless all until you felt yourself gently crash into the snow. Lightly falling over, you jumped up quickly to dust off the snow from your backside and pants, not enjoying the view of yourself. You had woken up ready and optimistic, and now you were already injured just from a bridge alone. Bleeding, scraped and bruised, and now cold and covered in snow.

Getting back on track(sort of), you saw a small lump of snow, however it didn’t seem like just any pile of snow to you. As you left footprints in the ground behind you, finally making it to the small patch of path, you found what appeared to be a tiny picket sign. It was faintly marked, but you could barely read out the words  _ “Just Moved!” _ in the worn wood, and you gave a small smile at this. A part of you wondered if some of the residents underground had taken a bit of snow with them back to the surface.

 

But then again, that would have been ridiculous.

 

Did um… snow monsters exist? You wondered this thoughtfully.

 

Making your way back and barely managing to shimmy around the large ice patch, you carried forward. You were freezing, but the numbness was slowly washing over you and giving you a faint sense of warmth. The less you were feeling, the more warm you felt, which you knew was a bad sign of becoming a bit ‘too’ cold but there was only so much your weather resistant jacket could do. It survived a fall, mud and rough terrain, but was it made for cold resistance? Not exactly. Next time something similar to these events ever happened, you knew you would get a better jacket that would be able to handle everything. The numbing cold however had helped your legs pain calm down, the throbbing sensation had relaxed and cooled.

Another bridge had to be crossed(that thankfully wasn’t as poorly damaged as the first) just to make it to a wide clearing. Once again there was another huge patch of ice, however right at the part of the ice you had entered there sat a huge snowball. It looked almost freshly made, but then again it didn’t make sense for it to be if Flowey was, infact, the only one underground and didn’t like the area of Snowdin. The weather in the area was freezing, though. It made sense if the snowball was conserved since years ago, considering the temperature was pretty close to a freezer.

You figured the best idea was to use the huge snowball to your advantage, as you slid yourself closer, the mound was a little more than half your height, the top of said snowball having reached your chest as you rolled it carefully and shimmied your feet along the slick ground. Thankfully the patch of ice was just as solid as the last one, however the closer you got to the other side the more the snowball started to melt from your body heat. It shrank ever so slowly, leaving wet markings under your boots as you made your way. Eventually it was so tiny that it couldn’t support you anymore, however you spotted what appeared to be a weird hole at the end inside of the ice. Almost as if the whole scene were just a small game of mini-golf.

The snowball was now the side of a golf ball, so with a small chuckle to yourself, you carefully shoved the tiny remains of the snowball into the hole. As soon as it landed, a rather strange noise sounded. Rather… demented, it sounded like a victory recording, however the batteries must have died since no one had been taking care of the ice game. It sounded more like a broken toy than anything exciting, and though you heard a loud click sound within the hole, nothing popped out towards you. Sliding yourself closer to peek inside, you saw a variety of colors within the hole. Perhaps if the game was working, it would have chosen a colorful flag for you?

 

Perhaps.

 

As you kept going through the snow and the very much alive pine trees(trees grew underground, go figure), you chose to ignore that there was a microwave sitting by a table in the middle of nowhere, and you persevered. Your body was trembling but completely numb, now the only warm parts of you were your sweaty feet from how thick your boots were and how tight they felt snuggling your toes. You had to maneuver around a lot of strange puzzles and obstacles, all deactivated of course, in order to just make it to yet another bridge. The only difference however was the fact that it was very much longer than previous bridges you had crossed, hanging rather low, gently swinging in the icy cold breeze. A rope bridge, of all things. While yes it was better considering it was supported by rope rather than hanging on its own without any supports, it was still fairly dangerous. Planks were missing, the rope could have been completely unsecured, and who knew how much weight it could handle if no one, not even Flowey, had used it in all the years the monsters lived above ground?

But by the looks of it, there was really no other way around it.

“Okay…” You told yourself, trying to motivate yourself to move forward. It wasn’t exactly working though, because you stood your ground and your feet refused to move. It took you about five minutes of trembling in place before you dragged your feet through the snow, approaching the bridge and carefully taking a step onto the wood.

Would it be safer to run across? A quick sprint? Or should you really just take it one tiny step at a time.

“I don’t wanna die…” You managed to admit aloud to yourself, slowly taking it one step at a time while holding onto both sides of the bridge. The planks creaked and wailed beneath each heavy step you took, and the ropes sounded almost forcibly stretched while you clung to them and slid your hands forward against their hold. Everything around you made noise, except you of course. You felt that the moment you let out even a faint breath you would suddenly be tumbling down with the bridge into the dark pit beneath you. It took you what felt like an hour just to get ¼ way across, and then it felt like two just to get halfway there.

You mumbled something incoherent to yourself at the realization that you were simply taking way too long, and in the distance you could finally see a rather worn down sign that read  _ “Welcome to Snowdin” _ . Christmas lights flickered in an abstract pattern, a few of the lights you figured were burnt out, while others you assumed would simply break any day now. With Snowdin so close in your line of sight, you were filled with DETERMINATION to hurry, or maybe you were just feeling that familiar  _ tingly rush _ again.

Your leg that had been terribly injured from your bridge fall earlier was now completely numbed down thanks to the cold, so you had enough strength to hurry across. With a quick push forward, you practically flung yourself ahead, using the side ropes to carefully(yet swiftly) wobble across the groaning bridge. Taking large steps over the gaps beneath you, you were surprised that by the time you collapsed into the snow on the other side, the bridge was still swinging gently behind you, as if you did nothing to it to cause harm. Perhaps it was more sturdy than you expected it to be.

 

You let out a sigh of relief, sitting in the snow for awhile to regain your composure, before carefully standing up and making your way to the Snowdin welcome sign.

As you suspected, some of the lights were completely dead, while others were flickering on their last bit of power. Now that you thought about it, Flowey had to have made a generator in order to keep the undergrounds power running, right? If he hadn’t made his own, then it was probably implied that he at least took care of the one that remained underground since the other monsters had left.

Looking down the path through the tiny town, all of the lights were off. The homes looked vacant, the street lamps were darkened, and with this much emptiness it almost looked eerie. There wasn’t a single sound other than your own light and shaky breathing, and you took a few steps towards the shop before trying the door. 

Rather happy that it was unlocked, you opened the door and stepped inside. Completely dark other than the faint blue light that came from the outside, you could make out a counter and a few ransacked supplies, but besides that it was just as empty as you had expected it to be. You stepped fully in and shut the door behind you, though the store wasn’t entirely warm, it was still nicer than sitting outside. Your stomach growled, letting it be known that you were already starving again. How long had it been since you had that slice of snail pie?

You wandered about the store, rummaging through the few remaining items that were around, and thankful you found a new flashlight to use. With the flashlight you conveniently found batteries, and illuminated your way through… well… nothing. There wasn’t much of anything that could be of use besides the flashlight. And with this, your stomach yelled again. “Dammit.” You breathed out, though much more warmer than outside in the snow, you could still see your breath every time you spoke to yourself. Whether starving or not, you wanted to warm up before going back outside, so you set your backpack and belongings on top of the store counter and checked yourself over.

Your leg was doing better, the cold somewhat helped stop the bleeding, so you relaxed against the counter as you opened up your backpack to prepare to change the wrappings around your leg. That was when you saw something rather surprising.

 

Something wrapped up in a white napkin?

Carefully pulling it out, you arched a brow in confusion as you unwrapped the napkin. To your surprise(not that you weren’t surprised already) you found three cookies and one slice of pie. All three were familiar from Flowey’s kitchen.

 

Well, your whole body suddenly got a  _ lot _ warmer than it was a mere few seconds ago.

 

_ “What a guy.” _ You snorted softly, your stomach accepting the (what you supposed it was) peace offerings happily as you immediately ate two of the cookies. They tasted somewhat spicy, but it was a delicious sort of spiciness you never had. You forced yourself to not eat the last cookie, but couldn’t help it when you tried one bite of the pie. It didn’t look like the escargot pie you had earlier, which was the main reason you wanted to have a taste. And when the bite melted in your mouth it surely wasn’t the same either. Was this… cinnamon? Or was it butterscotch?

Either way, your body was positively cozy at the moment. Not full, but content enough to keep going. Surprisingly, all thanks to your frienemy. 

Re-wrapping the gift and placing it back into your backpack, you slipped the straps over your shoulders and figured you could leave the store. Carefully opening the door to re-greet the cold, you shuddered, however you were still cozy with good taste and  _ feelings. _ However as soon as you stepped outside and shut the door behind yourself, you heard someone yelling in protest.

 

**“FUCK!”**

 

The area was so big that the outburst echoed throughout the Snowdin town, bouncing off the distant walls and houses of the cavern far away from you, only to come back to your ears as a whisper. You tried to look around to see where it was coming from, but as you walked past the store and started your way through the rest of the town, you found no one in particular. Either you were hearing things, or it had to have been Flowey. Not that you could trust whether he lied about being alone or not, but he was the only other person (or… plant) that you knew of. You even managed to make it all the way up to a building that resembled a bar, only to find that the few steps you had taken were the only sounds you could hear.

 

You were alone.

 

Huffing under your breath, you glance over the bar to see that it was a  _ Grillby’s _ . Probably the very first one now that you thought it over. There was one in your home town, but you never went. You weren’t much of a drinker, and you weren’t the type to hang out with big groups at bars anyway. There had been a few times that Frisk invited you out to meet up with their friends at Grillby’s, but you would always decline and just go home. You knew why you would decline, but for the sake of your own sanity you held back those thoughts and reasons before walking past the building. You didn’t go to bars on the surface, no use trying to go underground.

 

_ “...P̶̄̀è̶͝o̵̐̀p̸̋͐l̴̇͝e̸͐͠ ̷̎̋a̴̋̐r̸͋̆e̷̋̈ ̶̃͛s̴͐͝ó̷͗ ̴̈͐d̸̈͛i̴̓͝f̸̆̀f̸̂͘ȉ̷̐c̷̀͘ǔ̴͠l̷̓͘t̴̅͂ ̷̃͊t̵̛̂ȍ̶̌ ̸̌̓ḃ̸͒e̶̽̕ ̶̿̑a̷͛͝r̷̔͝ŏ̴̂ú̵̐n̶̈́͝d̶͗͛…̶͊̈́”̷̆͝ _

 

You knew you were supposed to meet Flowey right outside of Snowdin, however once you spotted the library you couldn’t help but enter inside and flip on your flashlight. As expected, close to all of the shelves were empty, even a few had small folded up pieces of paper that simply stated  _ “Moving On Up!” _ Though you did spot one book sitting on top of the front desk as you made your way to it, setting your bag on top of the counter space and pulling out your journal. You needed to write down all your findings while they were fresh in your mind, before delving into even more research.

A dark green book, no actual title other than, what you supposed was, the name of the author. However the book was rather worn, stale even, and coated in a dust that even your fingertips couldn’t wipe off no matter how much you tried to brush away. Opening it up you turned your head as a puff of dust lifted, managing a faint cough from your throat before returning to focus back on the book. Reading over the excerpt carefully:

 

_ “Love, hope, compassion… _

_ This is what people say monster SOULs are made of. _ __  
_ But the absolute nature of “SOUL” is unknown. _ _  
_ __ After all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist.”

 

“Did I ever ask Frisk what exactly a monster soul was?” You asked yourself aloud as you gently closed the book, carefully tucking it away into your bag and reorganizing it to make sure the snacks didn’t get crushed underneath any weight(because they were, of course, the real MVP). The book was mostly based on assumptions rather than studies, at least that was what you could tell from the formatting of the sentence.  _ ‘What people say they’re made of, but the absolute is unknown’ _ . If a soul was filled with everything along the lines of love, hope, compassion, and many other emotions and feelings, then perhaps Flowey didn’t realize he did have a soul.

 

How else would he react in the ways that he did?

It wouldn’t make sense if he held fear, anger, hatred and so many negative emotions if soul’s themselves were the ones to contain them.

 

_ ‘After all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist.’ _

_ The strange idea that, perhaps, Flowey held a human soul within him made you curious. But you pushed these thoughts away.  _ You wondered about your own, suddenly concerned with the idea that not all human souls needed these feelings and emotions in order to exist. Was it only a human thing? Or was it also a monster thing?

 

_ “̴I̸n̵j̵e̷c̸t̵e̴d̴ ̶D̷E̶T̴E̶R̷M̴I̴N̶A̷T̴I̴O̶N̵ ̴i̴n̸t̸o̶ ̵a̶ ̷s̵o̶u̴l̷l̸e̷s̴s̶ ̷p̸l̸a̵n̵t̸.̴ ̵I̷’̶m̵ ̶t̴h̴e̵ ̴p̸e̴r̵f̵e̶c̶t̸ ̷a̵n̶s̴w̴e̷r̷ ̵t̸o̵ ̶“̷w̷h̸a̴t̷ ̸i̷f̵ ̶y̵o̷u̷ ̸h̴a̷v̷e̶ ̶n̷o̵ ̶s̴o̶u̷l̸ ̶a̴n̸d̷ ̶g̴i̴v̷e̷ ̷n̷o̵ ̶f̶u̵c̷k̶s̵ ̷b̴u̵t̶ ̴y̵o̷u̶ ̷s̴t̵i̸l̶l̵ ̵d̸o̶n̸’̶t̴ ̸w̷a̶n̷n̶a̶ ̸d̷i̵e̷?̵”̴ _

 

**D E T E R M I N A T I O N.**

 

_ “̸I̶f̸ ̶a̵l̴l̷ ̶y̵o̴u̶ ̷a̵r̶e̵ ̵i̵s̸ ̷d̵e̷t̴e̷r̷m̵i̵n̸e̵d̷,̵ ̸a̶n̷d̷ ̷n̴o̶t̶h̸i̷n̷g̷ ̴e̸l̴s̷e̴…̵ ̵y̸o̸u̶’̷r̶e̵ ̵j̵u̷s̴t̶ ̷a̶s̵ ̸i̶n̶h̸u̴m̸a̵n̷ ̴a̶s̸ ̸m̷e̷.̵”̵ _

 

_ Did… you dream about Flowey? _

 

“Injected with determination.” You mumbled, rubbing your chin and practically coating it in dust. You reminded yourself that Alphys(shudder) was the one that created Flowey, at least from his words she was. She injected DETERMINATION into him and brought him to life, without a soul(supposedly) which caused him to have a will to live and not die, but also do whatever it takes to survive in the process. Humans were also capable of this feat, every human had it… and if the book is true to their discovery of  _ ‘after all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist’ _ , like joy, happiness and contentment… that might mean that you yourself-

Self-diagnosis’ never exactly worked out for anyone, but you were getting rather worried as your mind wandered back to your dream. Trying to push back the thoughts, you thought positive. After all, you had feelings and plenty of them. You felt pain, heartache, excitement, and even compassion.

 

_ “̷I̴t̵’̶s̷ ̸n̸o̶ ̵w̷o̸n̵d̸e̵r̷ ̶y̶o̴u̵r̷ ̴s̷o̷u̴l̷ ̷d̵o̵e̵s̸n̴’̶t̷ ̵k̵n̶o̶w̶ ̷w̵h̵a̶t̶ ̴i̶t̸ ̷e̵v̸e̶n̵ ̷i̴s̴.̴ ̵F̸o̵r̷e̵v̷e̵r̶ ̷c̷h̷a̵n̸g̶i̷n̴g̵,̴ ̶f̶o̵r̷e̶v̴e̷r̸ ̵c̵o̶n̷f̶u̴s̵e̵d̴~̸”̵ _

 

You may have a confused soul, but you at least knew yourself… right?

It would be a good idea to start moving, being left to your own thoughts was tiring.

 

The room felt like a heavyweight suddenly, a damp coat that had been tossed over your very being in a way to slow you down as you hurried you way out of the building and back to the fresh outdoors of the underground. The cool air that, before was too chilling, suddenly felt relaxing and it was very much appreciated. It wasn’t until you took in a deep breath that you started a coughing fit, the dust had somehow clung to you on your way out, causing you to inhale a lot into your lungs. Pounding your chest heavily, you only took one more step until you saw him.

 

There he was, Flowey the flower, in a rather tiny and pitiful patch of grass in front of an abandoned home. All he was doing was standing there, shivering, his petals had closed around his face as either a way to hide or a way to keep the cold out as best as he could.

 

The moment you saw him you felt rather sad at his appearance, wondering if there was even a way to help him keep from getting cold, let alone dying from freezing over. But you also thought of the baked goods he had given you that were, more or less, life saving. As you approached rather quietly, one of his petals slowly peeled away, his beady eyes peeking through the dark he had created to protect himself, and said eye seemed to glow.

“Flowey, you’re here.” You said with a smile, somewhat breathless and, rather surprised. Flowey didn’t fully peel away the rest of his petals, keeping his face hidden as his eye scanned you over. He scoffed, though his teeth chattered pretty audibly “Y-You look shitty… c-couldn’t survive even an hour or t-two without little ol’ m-me~?”

“Hard to tease me when you’re getting frostbite.” You kept your smile, and it caused the flower’s gaze to waver as he breathed out shakily “T-Tch. Whatever.”

“There has to be a way for you to not travel just in the earth, right?” You asked thoughtfully, tilting your head to try and get a better view of him. He slowly opened up his yellow petals, showing his rather red nose, or at least where it should be if he weren’t a flower. He looked almost like someone about to catch a cold. Flowey simply stared at you then, as if trying to figure out what language you were even speaking, before you carefully held out your arm. “Well, think you could use your vines to hang onto my arm?”

“I’m not going to f-fucking.... h-hang on your arm like… some…” He was probably about to sneeze, but he didn’t “Like some house plant…!”

“Flowey.” You kept your arm out “I admitted I wanted you to travel with me, and you said no even though you were sitting around Snowdin the entire time waiting for me, right?”

 

Dead on the mark, the rest of his face turned as pink as his nose.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you enjoy my company.” You manage then, rolling your eyes a bit “I want you to help me, and I’m getting pretty lonely. And if you’re going to risk your own life for the sake of watching over me…” Technically stalking, but if you said that he’d probably flip shit. “Might as well…  _ hang around.” _

Okay, you smirked at the joke, and seeing his almost disgusted face meant that he got the joke too.

“You’re a horrible person.” He managed to murmur, though he slowly let a tendril emerge from the tiny bit of earth that wasn’t coated in snow. It was small and frail, shaking as much as he was, and once it touched your arm you could feel just how cold he really was. You instantly shivered as the vine wrapped around your arm, and weakly clung to you like a frail child afraid of the dark. He looked to you as if he were lost.

“So do I just… yank you out the ground?” You asked then, though not waiting as you pulled. Half of him was pulled from the earth, however he yelled out in protest “OW! Can you not?!”

 

“I don’t see any other way around this.”

“Well don’t tear me in fucking HALF you dimwit!”

“You got the vocabulary of an old man--”

“YOU’RE AN OLD MAN!”

 

You could feel the warmth returning to his plant body just from his temperature rising, nothing more warmth-bringing than getting someone hot and irritated. His tendril wrapped more firmly around you from your teasing, and slowly he managed to uproot himself just as you pulled to lift up. Now holding your arm out before you, there he was. Flowey had completely wrapped himself around your whole arm, but apparently he was having trouble balancing himself. You gave a small smile “Comfy?”

“Not at all, no.” He replied, squinting his eyes for a moment before his tendrils stretched and crawled over your shoulders, sliding himself up your arm and behind you, where he sat his body on the top of your backpack and held onto you by wrapping himself around your shoulders. Two vines performing similarly to the straps of your bag as he hooked his own plant-like arms around your shoulders to make sure he was secure, basically he looked like a leafy harness. “Better.”

This was a complete act of trust, you hoped he understood it as much as you ‘sort of’ did. The flower that was willing to crush and choke you yesterday was suddenly sitting on you. You were sure that he was good, everything he expressed had to have come from somewhere, he couldn’t be ‘soulless’...

 

And… you had feelings, too.

 

“Whose house is this anyway?” You asked as you glanced upward then to look it over. Why was Flowey sitting in front of this house in particular? Flowey seemed to turn his head to look it over as well “The skeleton brothers, Papyrus and Smiley Trashbag. This is where they used to live.”

 

He must have meant Sans--

Wait, why call him  _ Smiley Trashbag? _

 

You curiously headed for the door, however you were suddenly pulled back by the vines tightening around you, yanking you backward as Flowey complained “No, let’s just get out of here! Snowdin’s too cold!”

“But I want to see…” You explain, trying to push forward. You finally made it to the door, however now his vine had fully wrapped around your arm. “Flowey! Stop!”

“You let me use your body--” Flowey managed, through gritted teeth as the both of you fought for control “So now I say-- we get the hell out of here--!”

“I didn’t let you  _ USE  _ anything!” You blurted and forced yourself forward in one rough pull, finally he released his vines from your arm, and you practically barged into the front door with a loud slam. The door swung back, opening itself as you two stumbled inside. Flowey clung onto you for dear life while you fell forward onto the cold and rather damp carpeted floor. Your leg already hurt, so the fall onto your hands and knees didn’t help. Wincing, you breathed out, your breath came and went like smoke as you mumbled “Listen Flowey, if this is gonna work out, we have to work together, alright? You can’t just try and control what I do. This is only until we find warmer ground for you.”

“Says the puppet to the master.” Flowey breathed out as well, his own breath appeared right at the corner of your eye, out of your vision but still there to remind you he was hovering right at your shoulder. You smirked “You’re so close I could almost kiss you again.”

“Try it and I’ll bite off your tongue.” He quickly stretched himself a bit away from you, and it only made you tease more “Wow Flowey, no one mentioned there’d be  _ tongue involved _ … what type of kissing are you thinking?”

Flowey breathed out heavily in annoyance “I’ve never been so  _ done _ with someone in my  _ entire existence of being. _ ”

You only laughed lightly in response as you looked around the rather full residence. While the skeleton brothers were on the surface now, they apparently left almost everything behind. The television was still there, furniture and things, and even socks and post its were lying around. The only thing that looked to be missing was a small shadowed shape on the carpeting before the tv, that made it look as if a couch had once been sitting there.

 

“They left so much stuff.” You commented calmly, walking into the kitchen to note that even there they had left all their cooking supplies and things, though scattered about as if ransacked. Thinking about how Flowey can cook and bake, you wondered if Flowey had perhaps searched through Papyrus’ things to use for himself.

“Well, they probably didn’t need anything.” Flowey shrugged as you wandered the kitchen, and you were surprised at this “Huh? But this stuff looks crazy expensive… that big screen tv? I mean, I don’t know how stuff works down here but maybe it was built and--”

“When you’re stuck underground for a long while, you kind of get detached to materialistic things.” Flowey commented, all the while you left the kitchen and headed for the small set of stairs that aimed upward. Trying the first door that was covered in  _ ‘WARNING’ a _ nd _ ‘DO NOT ENTER’ _ signs, you opened it with ease and noted that it was full with a bed, table, computer, and even a few collectable figurines. Flowey continued “Maybe all that they needed was each other.”

You paused, looking over your shoulder at him, though Flowey was looking around the room as well as he continued once more “Sometimes after being alive and in total shit for so long, you only have what you came with. Sometimes family is all you got to count on, and if you don’t have that… then you have nothing.”

 

What was Flowey’s story… was it similar to your own?

The moment you believed in something that they didn’t want you to, you were abandoned and forgotten. But what about Flowey?

 

“What was your family like, Flowey?” You tried to ask softly, noting his curiousness in looking around the room, you decided to seat yourself on the car shaped bed so that he could keep looking around. He was quiet at first, before he sighed “I guess they would’ve been great, if I had actually cared about them. But like I said, it’s hard to care when you have no feelings.”

You didn’t want to bring up that sort of conversation again, and in the end the both of you were feeling uncomfortable about the family subject. “Right.” You replied lightly, and once Flowey looked to you as if a confirmation he was done, you stood back up from the bed and left back into the hall, shutting the door behind you.

“That was Papyrus’ bedroom.” Flowey said quickly, changing the subject(thank god) “He usually described his room to me since I refused to just ‘hang out’ in Snowdin, I tried once in his backyard, while he talked from his window… but I told him it was shitty and I’d never come by again. So we found better hang out spots.”

“Did you two hang out often?” You asked this while heading down the hall, to the more plainer looking door that, you jiggled the handle and found, was locked.

“Not really.” Flowey murmured, though he scoffed “Well, he would find me somehow. Even on days I just wanted to be alone. Papyrus is so naive and dumb that--” He then clicked his tongue as if hating to admit “Ugh, I guess his… this ‘friendship’ of ours is genuine, I trust him, I’ve never doubted him. Which is funny considering he also felt the same way with me but doesn’t realize that...” His words had trailed off, though from what you recall him mentioning in the interview, he’s  _ killed before.  _ It was rather easy to connect the dots. And the idea of resets and timelines that, even though you barely understood, you wondered if this had anything to do with Flowey having the ability to do something and just reset the world as if it never happened. Like a  _ game.  _ Kill someone and then restart like it meant nothing.

 

_ How many times did he kill Papyrus? _

 

Your heart somewhat ached at this, it was a two way street kind of tale, Flowey probably didn’t trust him at first and always found a reason for him to die. He even said that Papyrus had (somehow) been a five star chef in another ‘timeline’, so had he seen Papyrus make it out to the surface in another life of his? Even for Papyrus it felt heart-wrenching, how would he feel knowing that whom he considered a close friend of his had killed him plenty of times before the two became close like this? Like writing love letters to a man who you never knew killed your family-- or something just as twisted. But you were trying to not let your dark thoughts consume you. You swallowed the lump in your throat. Flowey seemed to note your sudden mood change, but before he could say something else you tried to hold down your fear as you managed a bit of flattery “You know… for a tough and mean acting flower, you sure are a sweetheart.”

The vines around your shoulders and chest tightened, but it was a gentle sort of tight, more of a hugging manner as he sighed almost heavily “Can we just go now? It’s cold and I hate it here.”

 

“For someone who can’t ‘feel’ anything you seem to find hate and anger easier to understand.”

“I at least know what it’s like to know when I hate something.”

You eyed him thoughtfully “You know, hate can be as strong of a feeling as love and longing. So strong and similar that the two can be mixed up or even combined.” You whistled “Wouldn’t it be funny if you found out that all this time whenever you were thinking you ‘hated’ something, you actually loved it?”

Flowey yelled out in protest “Why are dumbasses given the ability to talk?! They should have their tongues melted and their lips sewn shut! Can we just get the hell out of here?!”

“Fine fine~” You said with a little laugh, slowly heading back down the steps and to the front door. Once you exited the house, you shut it behind you before reminding yourself of something.

 

“Oh, also…” You manage lightly, the cold air returning to your skin to make you somewhat shiver. However, Flowey’s lukewarm vines seemed to make it all the more better for you to handle. “I found some pie and cookies in my bag.”

“So what?” Flowey retorted rather quickly, as you turned your head to look at him he looked at you all the same. You only smiled “Flowey, they were delicious. I still got the pie in my bag and a cookie left, if you wanna share?”

“I don’t need to share.” Flowey squinted his beady eyes, lowering them then “I’m a plant who doesn’t need to eat regular shit like everyone else. And anyway, I can make more for myself. I only got you some ‘cause you’re accident prone as shit and I knew you’d probably die without my help.” He used a vine to stretch down and lightly touch your injured leg, causing you to flinch as he scoffed “See? Not even a whole day on your own and you managed to once again hurt yourself.”

“What would I do without you, Flowey?” You practically sang teasingly, batting your eyelashes towards him and causing his face to heat up. The petals that haloed around his head seemed to curl more closed, as if to hide himself, however before he could fully shut himself in, you leaned in to quickly kiss his forehead, and he simply shut his eyes tightly as you did so. Pulling away just as fast, you left him almost breathless as he practically complained through mouthing out words instead of actually using his voice.

 

“How do I get out of here then, Flowey?” You asked softly, trying to return to focusing on moving forward. Almost shakily he held up a leaf that pointed to your left, and so you turned and walked through the snow in the direction he gave.

 

“Thanks~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >And Flowey is the only Undertale precious that has a nickname from me (Flowjo) other than Napstablook(Nappyboy) don't hate.


	8. He Gave You A Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But you’re loved by everyone on the surface, whether they know who you are or not, you’re a hero.”
> 
> “̸̡̞̠̪̼̣͑́̄̾̉̊Ì̶̧̺͎̲̠̙̅́̍̽̚’̵̡̦͔̻̖̣̏̑͂̈͂̚ḽ̷̨̰̞͖͚́̐̾́̕͝l̵͓̝̳̲̻̱̓̌̓̒̽̏ ̸̡͙͈̬̣̠́̔͗͗̎̚ń̸̡̧͙̻͕̬͒̋̚͠͝e̸̹̖̲͉͗̋̓̈́͆͜ͅv̶̖̟̤̦̂̂́̏͘͘͜͜e̴͈͍̯̯̼͇͛̽̓̈́͘͝r̷̤̞͉̯̝͈̉̂̐͒̈́̐ ̶̢̯̥̠͎͔̾́̈́̽̍̏b̷̢̥̘̙̣̌̒͑̂͜͝͝ë̷̩̣̯̺̰͇́͒̋͒͋͋ ̷̭̯̗͍̹̰͛̔͆̋͊́h̷̡͔̤̗͚͕̾̐̀̎̓͝į̵͓̜̺̣̰͋̀̆̂̾̾m̵̘̠̻̻͔̤͆͑̂̓́͌!̴̖̣̹͕̙̠̄̉̐̾̅͘”̵̘̜̫̗̖̪̋̍̋̆͠͝

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > the feels train hope yall are on board choo choo mofos
> 
> > the heartstrings are all being yanked

###  **Chapter Eight:** ** _He Gave You A Reason_**

Perhaps the cold combined with the sudden humidity you were approaching was the cause of such heavy fog suddenly circulating you. As you went down the path that exited Snowdin, it started to get warmer, and with such warmth the fog rose and surrounded both you and Flowey. Eventually you could barely see anything ahead of you, but as if reading your mind, Flowey simply instructed you to walk in a straight line and to not deter or wander. He clung to you tightly, which at first was comforting in the colder climates with the snow, but as it got warmer and more humidity arose, you were getting uncomfortable and feeling sort of  _ sticky _ .

**** By the time the fog and mist cleared away and you were able to see again, it was like you had teleported to another new dimension. The earth was plush, the air damp, and the smell of fresh water(or was that mildew?) filled the whole area. There was a faint and distant cold breeze coming from behind you, a reminder of what you had left for the sake of pushing forward.

****

“This is Waterfall.” Flowey introduced it easily, slowly unravelling from around you and allowing himself to fall against the earth. However as soon as he did this, his roots quickly sank into the dirt, and he did the same wriggling like someone who was getting comfortable in a recliner. A part of you felt relief, but a part of you also was concerned that you couldn’t keep an eye on him anymore. Now he was able to roam about freely, like before, and pop in and out at his own leisure. You did hope he took your idea to heart, about the two of you staying close so that he could guide you. And of course, after having injured your leg, and the warm climate forcing you to feel it again, you really did need someone to look out for you incase you had yet another accident.

**** As you started to go further down and away from the cool current of air wafting behind you, you found yourself walking beside two waterfalls, and made a note that the name of some of these locations were rather-- blunt.

****

Snowdin sounded similar to being  _ snowed in. _

**** And Waterfall must have been for the sake of there being a lot of waterfalls in the area.

****

You decided you would whip out your journal as you carefully kept going, Flowey leading rather fluently now that he was back in the earth. He would sink himself quick into the ground, only to pop up again a few feet ahead, and before you could reach him, he would repeat the pattern. All the way up until the two of you reached a similar looking sentry station that you had seen at the beginning of Snowdin. You made your way to it, practically limping as you rested your journal on the flat surface to finish writing your thoughts.

**** “Your legs pretty bad huh?” Flowey commented your way, popping up right beside the station you leaned yourself heavily against, and right next to a blue almost glowing flower. In a sense, the flower looked rather similar to Flowey’s design, however it appeared to be thicker and more adapted to the elements of Waterfall, its stem almost as thick as a small tree, and the petals large enough to probably make a really nice looking sun-hat.

**** “Well it’s not good…” You mutter, finally shutting your journal and putting your pen and paper away once you had finished with your notes. “The first bridge on my way to Snowdin collapsed, I fell through-- well, only one leg fell through. I was forced to get flexible in order to get out of that ordeal.”

**** Flowey snorted a tiny laugh “What would you do without me?” he asked rather coyly, batting his eyes as innocently as he could. You grinned somewhat meekly, but before you could say something clever back(something rather flirtatious), suddenly you were cut off by his voice again.

****

**_“What would you do without me?”_ **

****

Noting that he hadn’t moved his lips, though you stared at him dumbfounded, he gave you a confused look. “What?” It became apparent that it definitely wasn’t him speaking, so as you looked around quickly to figure out where the second Flowey voice came from, he suddenly gasped, realizing your confusion. “Oh, it’s an echo flower.” He turned his head quickly towards the blue flower that stood beside him, his petals swayed with his motions as the leaf he used as an arm pointed towards it “If you speak too close to it, it repeats everything you say.”

**** You whipped out your journal again. “That’s crazy awesome.” You commented, approaching it quickly to look it over while you took notes.

****

**_“That’s crazy awesome.”_ ** It replied.

****

“And sometimes annoying.” Flowey grunted, and in turn it commented back just as grudgingly  **_“And sometimes annoying.”_ **

**** You figured it would be best to be silent as you scribbled and wrote, even doing a rather simple sketch of the flower. All the flower did was repeat the scribbling noises of the pen on paper, before you finally placed your journal away once again. You looked to Flowey with a small nod, and he simply returned a faint noise before sinking into the earth, leading the way further down and escaping the echo flower’s ear.

****

The sounds of rushing water filled the entire cavern, mist covered your body and made your clothes just as damp as the wet dirt beneath your boots. The sound grew louder soon enough, and eventually the bright golden flower boy poked his head out across the way from a waterfall crossing, the water that poured down seemed to transport and carry a variety of rocks and debris with it, small and large bunches of either greenery, trash and old belongings, or boulders. Everything seemed to move so fast, and there was no way around it other than going right through. You hoped it wasn’t deep.

**** “Just try not to get hit by anything.” Flowey had raised his voice for you to hear him on the other side of the rushing waters. You felt completely worn out, but you knew you had to keep going. Your DETERMINATION wouldn’t let you falter as you nodded towards the flower and stepped into the water just as fast as you could react. It reached your hips before you felt the ground, feeling a bit more confident as you did your best to hurry across, all while maneuvering to avoid being smacked by a rock and sent plummeting further down the waterfall. Even this water, that was carrying trash, smelled fresh and clean. Your mouth was getting dry, but you didn’t want to drink the water no matter how clean it was. After all, clean or not you refused to sip the same water that would also carry a large garbage can lid down the stream.

**** Finally making it across, your pants were soaked and boots filled with water. Trying to shake it off as if you were a dog, Flowey didn’t seem to mind the spray you let flick onto him. He didn’t even flinch when a few beads had landed on his face, simply staring at you as he smirked and commented smugly “Nice swim, huh?”

**** “Shut up.” You murmured quickly, sighing tiredly as the two of you continued on. There was less talking now, but that was only because Flowey didn’t seem to be much of a chatterbox. You hadn’t realized it until now, but you were usually the one that sparked conversation, or at least triggered Flowey to say something depending on your reactions to something else. But with being tired, sore, and now limping like an injured animal, you really weren’t in the mood for conversation. If Flowey wanted to say something, you would reply, but that would probably be it.

****

_ Good thing he had nothing to say. _

****

The walls were speckled with tiny glimmering gems, and they coated the roof of the area almost like stars. They glimmered as if they glowed naturally and on their own, illuminating the dark without the need of actual sunlight or even lanterns and torches. By the time you reached an almost too narrow corridor of the cavern, your eyes gazed over the hall covered in echo flowers and gems, all of the flowers swaying in a nonexistent breeze, but all of them completely silent.

**** There was a telescope at the middle of the hall, however that was all you took notice of besides the cyan colored plants that grew every which way. Some were in the earth, others slightly sprouting from the walls as well. Flowey popped up right beside one near the center of the room, talking to it rather quickly and finishing by the time you had caught up to him. The flower spoke up with pride, Flowey’s voice mimicked perfectly  **_“Wow, this human sure is an idiot!”_ **

**** You twisted your face in bemusement, and all Flowey did was cackle as you limped your way over to another flower and whisper to it.

****

It replied just as loudly as the other had, however in your words  **_“I don’t think Flowey realizes I can stomp them to kingdom come.”_ **

****

Though as you laughed at your own response, Flowey suddenly appeared all the way at the end of the hall with a smile of curiousness, almost singing a little melody as the echo flower repeated his tune  **_“Oh right, with which leg? The ugly one or the broken and ugly one~”_ **

****

**_“Who needs legs with guns like these?”_ ** As if on cue he looked up from the flower he was at just to watch you flex in a goofy fashion. Even your poor taste in jokes were enough to almost get a smile on Flowey’s face--  _ almost. _

******_“All I see are limp noodles.”_ **

******_“So if a flower is sad do the other flowers just PHOTOSYMPATHIZE with it?”_ **

******_“Your puns are as terrible as your looks!”_ **

******_“Chin up friend I beLEAF in you~!”_ **

****

Flowey’s next sentence seemed rather quick, it looked like you were winning.  **_“Poor human’s so dead on the inside~”_ **

**** And you released your final blow.  **_“You’d know my insides considering you mouth fucked them.”_ **

****

“HEY!” Flowey blurted quickly, suddenly flustered from the last echo flower that repeated your words. You smiled almost too proudly as the other flowers now chanted his yell throughout the room in cheers of  **_“HEY! HEY! HEY!”_ **

****

“And to the victor go the  _ spoils~! _ ” You cheered for yourself quietly, clapping gently before patting your back. Only a few flowers heard the clapping, resulting in you getting a light amount of applause.

**** “There are no  _ spoils _ , dumbass.” Flowey simply grunted, his face flushed and his lip in a pout as he mumbled “I’ll be right back, don’t wander off on your own and kill yourself just yet. Stay here.” The demand was quick, and before you could protest he sank into the earth, and this time he didn’t reappear near another flower. 

**** The flowers repeated his words like a scattered choir, and you immediately knew you wanted to keep moving forward. A part of you really needed some rest, but another part of you felt it wasn’t such a good idea to rest in such a damp and humid place. Looking around, you spotted a small archway and headed for it, ducking through quickly and tiredly, making your way as you followed the sound of more rushing water in the distance. It almost felt like a maze. The last thing you wanted to do was get lost while ditching Flowey, you did your best to remember where you were going incase you needed to hurry back or call for some sort of help. At this point, you felt that Flowey was a little(more or less) trustworthy.

**** You found yourself eventually at an even darker part of the glowing waterfall caverns, the gems flickered and twinkled all over the walls and ceiling, and the earth beneath your feet had turned just as dark as everything else, though thankfully was illuminated by the gemstones. As you started to hear the rushing water noises grow closer, you eventually managed to enter deeper into the dark, finding that the rushing water was actually glowing, lighting the room in a bright and magical blue light. The path was thin, possibly having fallen apart from being soaked in said waters for years without being maintained, so you made your way carefully as you explored the area. You kept moving, trying not to stop even as you saw more echo flowers to play with, and soon enough you found a large enough spot to set your things down and take a break.

**** Surrounded by a blue glow, the glistening ceiling and the calming sounds around you, you practically forgot how uncomfortable and damp your clothes were. Your body was relaxing all too much as you closed your eyes for just a moment. Focusing on your breathing, on the sounds of the gentle waters that almost sounded like waves crashing along a shoreline. You were finding peace.

****

In that moment however, you heard a faint noise.

**** A faint  _ voice _ , even.

****

**_“Flowey… I know this is hard for you. It’ll be even harder to hear this after you change back. Trust me I know.”_ **

****

It sounded like someone new, or at least someone who wasn’t you or Flowey. You almost quickly opened your eyes and turned your head in the direction of the voice, a part of you hoping it was another monster that perhaps had just been hiding from Flowey. However all you spotted was an echo flower, swaying not too far from your post. You carefully crawled over towards it on your hands and knees, grunting only slightly from your injured leg being dragged across the blackened mud below you, and doing your best not to say anything as the voice became better to hear. It was soft, gentle, almost child-like as it continued.

****

**_“I know what it’s like to feel lost, alone, like no one could ever understand you. But I also know what it’s like to feel love, and not want to live in a world without it. It’s hard to keep going on, but because of how our lives had changed, it’s hard to count on someone to show us love too.”_ **

**_“Flowey, I may never get to talk to you face to face, we’re the same person and yet we’re completely different and our own selves. Maybe you’ll hate my voice, maybe you’ll hate the thought of Frisk thinking you’re me… but it’s up to you to make a name for yourself.”_ **

**_“You are your own person. I’ll always be with you, whether you believe that everyone can be good… even the worst of people… I’ll be here supporting you, every moment of every day.”_ **

****

**_“You’ll be alone down here, but I’ll still be here too.”_ **

******_“You’ll never be me, and I’ll never be you.”_ **

****

_ “̸̡̞̠̪̼̣͑́̄̾̉̊Ì̶̧̺͎̲̠̙̅́̍̽̚’̵̡̦͔̻̖̣̏̑͂̈͂̚ḽ̷̨̰̞͖͚́̐̾́̕͝l̵͓̝̳̲̻̱̓̌̓̒̽̏ ̸̡͙͈̬̣̠́̔͗͗̎̚ń̸̡̧͙̻͕̬͒̋̚͠͝e̸̹̖̲͉͗̋̓̈́͆͜ͅv̶̖̟̤̦̂̂́̏͘͘͜͜e̴͈͍̯̯̼͇͛̽̓̈́͘͝r̷̤̞͉̯̝͈̉̂̐͒̈́̐ ̶̢̯̥̠͎͔̾́̈́̽̍̏b̷̢̥̘̙̣̌̒͑̂͜͝͝ë̷̩̣̯̺̰͇́͒̋͒͋͋ ̷̭̯̗͍̹̰͛̔͆̋͊́h̷̡͔̤̗͚͕̾̐̀̎̓͝į̵͓̜̺̣̰͋̀̆̂̾̾m̵̘̠̻̻͔̤͆͑̂̓́͌!̴̖̣̹͕̙̠̄̉̐̾̅͘”̵̘̜̫̗̖̪̋̍̋̆͠͝ _

****

**_“But you’re loved by everyone on the surface, whether they know who you are or not, you’re a hero.”_ **

**_“You know what love feels like, you know what happiness is, what contentment is, sorrow, anger, hatred… don’t believe you have no feelings for a moment because the truth is, you have plenty.”_ **

******_“And even if it takes forever, I hope someone can prove that to you. Please don’t hate me, Flowey...”_ **

****

**_“Love, your best friend.”_ **

******_“Asriel Dreemurr.”_ **

****

There was a soft sound of a smooch, before you pulled away as the words repeated themselves as softly as they must have been whispered to.

****

What did this all mean? Well, you slowly pieced together what you recalled Flowey mentioning. Then again even if you had once doubted the flower’s words and considered him a liar, this all proved his words true. Asriel  _ was  _ Flowey. Asriel was Toriel and Asgore’s son (Duh, that last name rang more than just a few bells)... who was killed as Flowey had said.  _ Asriel escaped the underground just to come back and die _ , and then Alphys had turned him into a flower to live on… only for him to be tortured with the inability to feel things. But that couldn’t have been true now, now Flowey knew what feelings were, he could feel them, he showed them rather often. He cried, he yelled out of anger, he blushed from frustration… Even Asriel told Flowey that he had feelings, so he had to have believed himself, right?

**** You sighed softly as you fully pulled away, the words that repeated through your ears were stuck in your head as Asriel continued to speak gently through the body of an echo flower. You wondered how many times Flowey wandered all the way to Waterfall just to listen to Asriel. Did he hate him? Did he love him?

****

_ Was he missed? _

****

You gathered your things and moved on, as quietly as possible. Of course you were hoping to find another secret flower that would tell you more things about Flowey. The echo flowers were mostly silent however, and soon enough you reached the end of the brightly lit cavern of glowing water. There was one echo flower that sat there, a child like voice escaping it. It sounded somewhat familiar as you approached and knelt yourself down. The voice was all too familiar, your ears strained to hear their words through the soft tears.

****

**_“I don’t wanna leave you here… but I gotta, Flowey. Please believe me.”_ **

****

_ Frisk? _

****

**_“You don’t deserve this! You don’t deserve any of this!”_ **

******_“But I promised Asriel-- I promised you! I have to keep everyone safe from now on and… and if you can’t trust yourself then how can I?”_ **

******_“I’m so sorry… Flowey… Asriel… I’m so sorry!”_ **

****

The flower broke out into sobs and sniffles, crying as it hoarsely ended  **_“I’m so sorry, Flowey. Stay determined…”_ **

****

_ “̵I̴f̸ ̷a̶l̸l̴ ̵y̷o̶u̸ ̵a̸r̴e̴ ̸i̷s̸ ̴d̷e̷t̸e̸r̵m̷i̸n̸e̴d̶,̵ ̷a̷n̵d̶ ̶n̴o̵t̴h̶i̶n̸g̵ ̶e̵l̷s̷e̸…̸ ̴y̷o̶u̷’̶r̶e̶ ̵j̸u̸s̵t̶ ̴a̴s̶ ̷i̶n̸h̶u̷m̷a̷n̴ ̷a̷s̵ ̸m̶e̷.̷”̷ _

****

You did your best to contain yourself, almost immediately turning away to fully face the stream of glowing water, to wash your face in the beautiful waters in an attempt to mask your tears. The recording once again started back up, looping through a child’s sorrowful speech about leaving Flowey behind for the sake of everyone else. A huge sacrifice... your heart was aching, you wished there was something you could do to have changed all this.

****

**_“I’m so sorry… Flowey… Asriel… I’m so sorry!”_ **

****

Flowey was hurting because of all this, he knew he had to stay put, but it was still years and years of torture. He was alone, forced into solitary confinement, and that was the gratitude he received for saving a whole community of monsters? Life was unfair... 

**** The last time you felt this horrible was when your friend never came back again, and was reported missing.

****

**_“...Stay determined…”_ **

****

Trying to escape the room, you made your way through and out of the glowing lights, returning to another small hallway that only grew darker as you left the light behind. The sounds of the many waterfalls vanished as you limped, and eventually you fell to your knees and sighed out shakily.

****

_ Life was so unfair… _

****

You laughed a bit to yourself, blinking away the tears that returned, but lifting your hand to lightly wipe at the wetness that covered your face. Your felt hot, and you sniffed lightly before swallowing down the lump in your throat that kept you from speaking. Not like there was anyone left to speak to, you ditched Flowey a few minutes ago, and were now definitely regretting it. You were ready to drown the flower in kisses when you lifted your head to spot an echo flower, swaying not far from where you knelt. It’s like it waved to you, and you lifted back up to wander over, sitting beside it to rest. You were prepared to leave your own little message, however as soon as you had approached, it started to speak to you, in Flowey’s voice, though more calm and gentle than his usual rash and angered tone.

****

**_“I have to accept all my actions now. There are no more resets. I can’t do things over… I can’t die and then come back… this is it, this is the end.”_ **

******_“Flowey whenever you doubt yourself listen to this and just know that… no matter what you might think, you were once a good person.”_ **

******_“It’s better to say this now while you can feel everything… before you go numb.”_ **

****

You breathed out softly “There is no  _ ‘once was’ _ ... there is only now. You  _ are  _ a good person. Flowey you are beautiful, you’re a hero, admirable, you’re kind, and even if you think you can’t feel anything at all, I know deep down you can feel everything and that’s what hurts the most. Because if you couldn’t feel, then why else would--”

**** You heard a noise not far from where you were, and it caused you to hesitate, before you simply continued “You’re sweet, and you don’t need to act tough. Be yourself, always, never be afraid to be you.”

****

“You’re  _ wrong. _ ”

****

Flowey’s voice suddenly appeared right beside you, though he whispered almost weakly, as if his breath had been punched out of him. His petals drooped like his head, refusing to look you in the eyes. “No soul equals no feelings,  _ idiot. _ ”

**** You open your mouth to protest, before he whispered harshly and cut you off(in an ironic fashion as he added) “ _ I cut your rope, human. _ I saw you, from waaaaaay up above… climbing your way down with that annoying flashlight in your mouth, and I knew what I was going to do to you before I even met you.” He snickered almost coldly, his face shifting, distorting, turning into a horror you haven’t even seen before. Your heart kept aching for him emotionally, but you did your best to not cringe even a tiny bit at the sight that remained only a few inches from your body. Flowey’s lips almost look peeled back as he cackled under his breath, his voice suddenly different from his usual tone; deep, dry, withered “It was all the more fun getting to watch you cry from the pain… As I watched you I thought  _ ‘What a dumbass! Wandering down here in the fucking dark! _ ”

**** “But you helped me.” You simply interrupted, his deformed face quickly staring right at you. You felt no fear(or at least tried not to) “You helped me--”

****_ “Because you made too much noise--” _

**** “Because you cared.” You corrected him, squinting your eyes before narrowing them to focus on something else. His face was changing back to normal, but that wasn’t the reason for looking away. Even after all you had heard, all he knew you probably heard, he still was pretending to not feel a thing. “You’re doing all this for the sake of the people on the surface, and if it were true that you felt nothing, that you wanted me to die, then I would be dead already. I heard what those flowers left behind for you, Flowey...”

****

Flowey grunted, turning himself fully away then “I didn’t want to kill you.”

**** “Well if that were true then you--” You froze, realizing what he had said and stopping your speech. You were prepared to go back and forth on an argument about him claiming to want to kill you, but he agreed rather quickly. “Oh…”

****

“I had no intentions of killing you, I just… have to protect myself, this is the final timeline and I can’t just change things if I don’t like their outcome.” He defended himself meekly, returning to keeping his face hidden from you “...I already regret enough, the last thing I need is to regret more that I can’t fix.” He looked over his shoulder towards you as you continued staring at him. “There are no resets, idiot. I can’t just risk doing whatever the hell I want to let my curious mind wander. I don’t get any more second chances. Whatever happens now is permanent.”

**** There it was again…  _ resets. _ Resets, saves, timelines. But you couldn’t compare it to time travel because earlier on he had explained it wasn’t as simple as that. You swallowed back your thoughts… and then you swallowed again, your mouth all too dry once more, and he finally faced you. Your eyes met with his own, and his intimate facade fell too quickly as a smug look crossed his features “Tch. What a crybaby. Have you been _crying?_ ”

**** You hadn’t realized it, the thought slipped your mind as you quickly lifted one finger to poke under your left eye. A stray tear had slid down your cheek, and you could only imagine that your eyes were red and puffy to give Flowey an obvious signal that you had been. “I’m not.” You stammered and lied, lifting your hand fully then to wipe your face and eyes. You gave a rather small smile at him though, and he blinked as his eyes widened. “What?”

**** “You’re amazing.” You give a gentle laugh, and slowly lean forward. You tried your best not to notice that Flowey had closed his eyes almost in preparation, and you simply gave him a gentle hug. He let out a small noise of surprise from your action, probably confused between why you gave him a hug instead of a kiss, and why he was receiving one to begin with. You then let go, only to pull back and see Flowey’s vines had sprouted from the earth, on either side of him, held up stiffly as if he were a burglar getting caught in a crime. Perhaps if you had hugged him longer, he would have hugged back.

****

“What was  _ that _ …?” He questioned, the tendrils slinking back into the dirt. You smiled innocently “What I want to know is what was all  _ that _ .” Your smile seemed to cause Flowey to quickly vanish into the earth, only to appear ahead as if implying he was ready to keep going “What do you mean?!”

**** “You closed your eyes~” You cooed as you prepared yourself, getting back to your feet and limping after him “You puckered your lips~ I could’ve sworn you were expecting something else--”

****

“I’m not sure I like your attitude,  _ human _ .”

**** You snorted “But I like yours,  _ flower _ .” Things were back to normal.

**** As you carried on and walked to keep up, you would spot an echo flower, silent and waiting for a voice. It was time to fill the underground with voices. Each one you passed wound up inviting you to give them random words.

****

**_“Lovely day today, Flowey.”_ **

******_“G’day to you, sir!”_ **

******_“Wow what a beautiful place!”_ **

******_“All hail the toughest flower-lord~”_ **

******_“Flowey’s really precious…”_ **

****

“If you don’t stop I’m going to make you choke on all those words.” Flowey hissed at you across the way, simply staring at you as the flowers echoed. You had done your best to do different sentences and voices, and it now sounded like the underground was bustling with conversation. You hummed “I’ve done nothing wrong~!” Intentionally saying this right next to another flower, that started to repeat the words melodically.

**** Flowey rolled his eyes, disappearing again and reappearing at the end.

**** You chuckled as you followed still, taking your time to reach him due to your leg, but also looking back behind you with each careful step you took. Returning your gaze forward for a moment, you saw him leaned close to an echo flower, but as soon as you were close enough, he sank into the dirt to disappear ahead.

****

* * *

 

**_“I’m sorry.”_ **

****

**_“I’m doing my best… I’m sorry, okay?”_ **

****

**_“This is bliss.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Okay I'm stuck at 38 kudos and I'm gonna do that bitch thing and tell the few fans who actually like this fic
> 
> > I'mma need yall to get this up to 40 before I post the next chapter(which IS ready btw)  
> > yes im a whore


	9. You Struggled To Grasp It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve never felt this… relaxed? I guess. I haven’t been this calm around someone since…” His soft words had trailed off then...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I am horribly shocked that me shitting out "btw get this to 40 kudos for the next chapter" actually worked lolol
> 
> > me love yall long time
> 
> > There's lemon zest in this, ya know, what fancy chefs use to add that 'hint' of lemon to taste.
> 
> > This chapter is probably one of the rare few short chapters, so I'm sorry that this may not be that long of a read.

###  **Chapter Nine:** ** _You Struggled to Grasp It_**

There were two rather droopy looking houses that the two of you passed by, however you took no interest in exploring it. The green and pink houses remained untouched as you carried along, your feet were too sore to even think of anything else, and your injured leg pulsed like a heartbeat, fatigue was starting to take its toll.

The conversations had died down as well due to tiredness. Flowey probably spoke a thing or two to you in an attempt to keep the chatting alive, but you either simply grunted responses back or didn’t say anything at all; which lead to another awkward pause of silence. Not that your hazy mind cared of course… eventually you had given up and chose to find a nice spot to nap. Not letting Flowey know that those were your intentions, by the time you reached a room with one solid path and deep seas of water, you were ready to find a wall to lean against.

“Onion-San used to swim around here.” Flowey commented, as if he were an actual guide and giving you a tour of a museum. “Probably either swimming around in the sea’s on the surface, or in an aquarium. God, he smelled awful.”

“Flowey…” You mumbled his name, and he looked to you, waiting for whatever you were trying to say. Which, you found out you had nothing to actually say, and you instead went down the path between the two pools of water and aimed for the wall. You were practically dragging yourself from how hurt your leg was. The environment was so humid and sticky your body wasn’t handling it all too well. You needed rest.

 

As soon as you reached the wall, you turned around and pressed your back heavily against it, sliding down to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Flowey popped up beside you immediately, and you muttered “My legs hurt, my scratched leg hurts… I think there’s still splinters in it.”

“So?” Flowey sounded displeased. He used his tiny leaves to wrap around your arm in an attempt to tug you back up “Come on, let’s keep going! The sooner we get to Alphys’ lab the better!”

 

You shuddered at her name.

 

“Flowey,” You began again in a faint breath, the spot you were in, after shifting and adjusting yourself, started getting far too comfortable. You carefully peeled yourself from the wall, and in turn you pulled off your backpack and jacket. Folding your jacket up to use as a makeshift pillow, you slowly laid yourself down against the damp earth, curling your legs up to let your knees rest a few inches from your chest. As your head relaxed on your folded jacket, you hugged the backpack tight. “I can’t go on right now… Please let me rest.”

“Tch.” He grunted, simply staring at you as your eyes grew heavier. Eventually his whole body was nothing more than a blurred image, yellow and green blobs fusing together. The blob continued “You think you’re sweaty now, you’ll just wake up sweaty later sleeping here.”

You hummed in response, the world slowly getting darker.

_“Human~”_ He was practically whining now.

 

* * *

 

 

Slowly blinking your eyes, you looked around the classroom and noticed your best friend wasn’t here today.

 

_Oh… right…_

 

You sighed softly, slumping a bit at your desk as the day continued. Nothing useful, all studies you already heard of. Monsters, myth or truth? Archaeological findings indicated that they may have roamed the Earth with humans many years ago.

All studies you already heard of.

You sat at the center of the room, your friends desk decorated in deep blue floral patterns and stickers. A pair of her favorite ballet shoes she had let you borrowed, that you figured was best to now give back. You had placed them on top of her desk, and everyone else placed candles and small things as a sign of love.

 

However, you were the center of an empty halo. All the desks surrounding you were empty, all the students sat away from you.

 

_“She went on vacation.”_

_“̧̬͙̩̘̝͐͗̈́̈͘͘S̨̰̣̺̭̺̔̈̐͌͊̿h̡̡̠̘͇̱̆͗̈̈̈́̿e̛̺̫̳̜͙̙̓̄́͋͝ ̡̫̞͉͍̇͋̌͗̀̚͜n̠̠̺͈̲̪͗̇̔̽͊͠ẹ̺̫͖̹̰̈̎͗͐͝͝v̗̝̜͔̲̀̋̆̈́̾̚ͅe͉͓̩̰̭̓͆̽̈́̋̈́͜ř̗͇̤̙̮̆͌̿̃̕ͅ ̧̢̟̥̖̝̆́͊̑͘͝c̢̭̗̩̙͂́͆̃̄̽ͅą͇̻͇̜̟̇̊̔̔͂͝m̡̧̧͖͚̮̑̈́̿̽̍̎e̞̫̗̦̝͍͆̇̽͌͌͘ ̪̹̥̜̩̲͊̇̍́̿̅b̧̠͕͚̲́͐̄́̚͝ͅą̯͖̯̝̎̈́̽̒̿͜͝ĉ̺̘̲͚̜̰̊͑͊͂̑k̨̗̠͙̬̺̆̀̾̑̏̚.̤͍͇͙͈͖̑͛̂̄͂͝”̱̳̙̻̽͗̈́̃̾͒͜͜_

_“_ _I bet it was them.”_

_“̟̬̻̩͇̜̒̔̎͋̒̚I̖̬͔͕̤̳͌̍͌͗̊̓ ̢̡̠̹̖͌͗̽̌͊̓͜b̨̜͉̹̯͍͌̔̎̒͂́e̹͉̭̯͇̊̌̍̿̈́̄ͅt͍̦̝̜̩͇̑͑̄́̎͝ ͈̹͇̗̮̥̋̍̆̌͊͆į̢̩͚͍̺̊̆̓͗̒̅t̟̭̗̬̥̱̐̔͂͆̒͝ ͈̹̺̻̝̭͑͐́̉̽̉w̢̼͈̭̺̱̎̔̎͌̄̚ä̟̤͚̺̳̦́̏̀̅͘͠s̠͎͖̗̱̝͋̽̋̌͆͝ ̖͉͔͈̤̮͂̽͆̿͒̈ť̨̩̖̯̹̖̍̀͌͝͝h̡̖͈͕̼̣̋̅̉̐̈́ę̭̱͚̟̪̽̑̂͂͆͝ ̟̲̣͍̗̱̂͒͊̈̎͘m̙͕̩̣̭̐͂̈́̓̍͘ͅo͔̗̝̝̘̦̎͐̑͌̀̚n̠̣͈̜̪̔̈̔̀̓̊ͅs̨̜̱̗̖̔̎̆́͑̈ͅt̢̮̘͓̦͍͌͒̃́͘͝ĕ͖͙̖͚́͊͌͒͜͠ͅr̞͚̺͖̬̣̃̀̍̎̎͝s͍̳̪͈̦͔̓̄͊̈́̃͝.͇̺͕̳̳̐͒̈́̊̓̚ͅ”̧̞̪̬̯̹́͑̋͆͆̕_

_“Their only friend died, how must they feel?”_

 

You blinked rather slowly, suddenly finding yourself standing behind two towering shadows. Their voices yelled down at the cowering teacher who remained seated at their desk.

 

“ _You!_ You’re teaching them that monsters are real?! How could you manipulate our children this way?!”

“ _You_ have _our_ child putting faith in you! _You_ have _our_ child thinking their best friend was murdered by monsters!”

“You have our child wanting to study monsters instead of wanting a real job!”

 

W̷h̸y̵ ̷a̷r̵e̵ ̶y̴o̸u̷ ̷s̷h̷a̸k̴i̴n̸g̶?̶ ̴I̸t̴’̸s̵ ̷n̶o̶t̴ ̵o̴v̶e̶r̸ ̷y̸e̴t̸.̵

 

Your tiny fists clench as you take in a deep breath, DETERMINATION filling your heart.

_“Mommy… Daddy…”_ You mumbled meekly _“I love monsters… what’s so wrong about--”_

 

D̸e̶m̸o̴n̷s̶ ̷f̸a̶c̶e̵d̶ ̵y̷o̸u̶ ̸i̵n̶s̴t̸e̸a̶d̶.̸

 

“Sweetheart you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re traumatized.” Your mother’s face pierced your soul, your determination dwindled and flickered like a dying candlelight “You lost your friend and I know it hurts but it’s not because of monsters, of all things, they aren’t real.”

_“Mommy… Daddy…”_ You tried again _“I love monsters… what’s so wrong about--”_

 

D̴e̵m̷o̶n̷s̶ ̷a̸t̵t̸a̸c̶k̵e̴d̶ ̶y̶o̷u̶ ̶i̸n̵s̸t̸e̴a̶d̸.̷

 

**“You are smarter than this!”** Your fathers voice yelled, suddenly kneeling to be at eye level, only to pierce your eyes with needles. You could feel them bleeding, the blood pouring down your cheeks as he gauged at them with his own stare. Like knives, like weapons, like hate. His claws sank into your shoulders, a wicked grin distorting his lips

“Y̴O̴U̵ ̴K̸N̷O̴W̴ ̸B̴E̴T̴T̶E̶R̴.̸ D̵͗̏̆̐̅̚Ö̶́͒̅̓͋͘N̵̒̋͊͝͝͝T̴̿̀̂̀̀̚ ̵́̎̄̈́̚B̵̂̉͌͛͘͝Ề̴͊́̚͝ SO N̵̘̟̹̰̼̥̅͑̀͐̅̚A̴̡̭͈̦̙͙͌̋̍͂̈̈́Ĩ̸̤̠͎̣̘͌̆͋̑̕ͅV̵̰͓͓͇͖͖͊̇̍͑̋̕Ę̸̢̟̟̟͈̑͑͂̕͘͝.̶̨̜̲̣͚́͋̔̅͜͝͝ WE RAISED Ȧ̴̡̛̳͖̦̮̣͛̈́́͂ ̴̡͓̣̘͇̆͑͐͛̾̚͜S̴͍̫̩̭̝̞͆̒̆͋̔͘M̷̧̪̱̟͉͋̿̏͑̾̚ͅĄ̶̰̣̯̭̗̉̒̌̍̆͐R̶̼̣̠̜̫̓͆͌̈̉͘͜Ṯ̴̝̯̦̥̼̔͗͛͊̾̎ ̶̯͙̳̰̼͉̇̄́̽̒̚C̷̛̲̱̱̬̹̔̿͒̑͝ͅH̵̡̺̺͖͕͍̽̒̎̃̈́̚I̷͈͍͈̹͖̺͛̓̆̓͠͠L̶̠̰̘̪̜̔̈́̋̅͜͝͝D̷̜̜͖̙̳̜̉̔̀̔̑͗ ̶̲̦̥̰̞͛́̆̊͒͋ͅN̴̨̬͍̗͓͔̑̆̉̓̕͝Ó̵̢͉̗̮͙͌͛̓̚͘͜T̵̛̟̘͚͍͉̓͒̀̾̚ͅ ̴̧̡̹͈̺͔͊̔̄̇̕̕Ä̷̮̪̺̦̱̥́̈́͗͗̚͘Ṅ̸̝̠̤̗̤̪̔̉̍͛̕ **̶̠͈̬̻̗̤̊̓͗̏̎̕I̵̛̪͖̬̰̭̥͛̀̅̅̈D̶̗̰͇͇̹̽͛̔̈́̔͜͝Ĩ̴̡̗̜͎̳̝͊̐̌̍̈Ò̷̹̣̜͖̥͐͌̋̕͜͝T̸̛̫͔̪̬͎̑͗̈̚̕ͅ.̶̨͉͍̫͖̩̆̓́̌̂̕”̵̨̨̭̳͕̥̀̍̽͆͛̅**

 

_“No one likes me, I don’t want any friends. I just want to hide in my room and read.” You wanted to say._

 

But you didn’t.

 

_“I don’t like people. I don’t like you guys. WHy is everyone so mean. Why is everyone taking everything I love away from me.” You wanted to say._

 

But you didn’t.

 

_“First my friend and then my parents and then my interests. I have nothing left to take. There’s nothing left of me to take.” You wanted to say._

 

But you didn’t.

Instead…

 

“W̵̩̯̬͍͕̭̗̻͉͚h̴̡̤̠̟̜̙̦̞͖͚y̴̢̨̰̳͚̝͈͓͚͎ ̴͈̦̰͓̱̣̼̭̪͜c̸̨̥͚̝̻̰͇̖͈ͅa̷͔̼̖̦̦̣̮̗͇̜n̶̼̠̤̙̯̗͕̼̬͜'̶̪͔͓̙̘̺͖̦̯̬t̷̠͍̗̪̠̼̙̪̙̞ ̶̬͕͙̥̥̳͉̠̠ͅI̶̢̡͉̼̬̺͓͙̤͖ ̵̨̮̣̣̩̖̣͈̮̫b̶̡͕̞͖̥̭̭̲̱̭e̶̱̝̤̞̝̰̫̞̘̟ ̷̝̳͍̱̘͎͖̤͚͈ḩ̶̜̟̲͚̮̠͕̤̰e̵̗͙̖̭͖͔̦̯͍̦r̷̢̢̯̘̜͈͚̩̯͜e̵̢̡̻̭̣͖̺̣̗ͅ ̴̨̢̧͉̺̪̰̯̪ͅa̷̭̼̺͈̹̤̩̪̱̻l̷͈͙͈̩̤͍̣̲͉͉o̶̧̧̤̬͎̟̼͍͓̠n̶̰͙̗͙̟̲͇̟͜͜e̶̢̳̤̲̲͍͍̯͕ͅ?̶̨̡̦̘̝̼̞͉͈̼”

 

They didn’t avoid you, did they? Y̷o̴u̶ ̵a̶v̵o̵i̸d̵e̷d̷ ̸t̶h̷e̴m̴.̸.̶.̷

_You didn’t want to lose them, you took on the selfless act of loneliness. At least, you thought it was selfless._

“I just don’t want to be hurt again. I’m tired of being alone… so tired.” You whimpered to no one in particular.

They all looked the same to you then. All the possibilities and reasons of why they would leave flooded your head. There were no other friends out there for you, she was the first and would be the last and only

It’s not that you hated humanity…

You just couldn’t trust it.

 

You sat at lunch alone, a whole table to yourself, your books and writings.

You stayed inside the house, hidden in your bedroom. You had to hide everything so your parents wouldn’t trash it.

Focused on homework, and chores. Work. You had to work.

_Does it still bother you? Even after all these years? Does it bother you that monsters do exist and your friend is still missing with many other children?_

_Did they kill her?_

 

With a heavy sigh, your cell phone rang, and you gently lifted it to your ear. You sat in your office, your desk completely empty of work to do. There was nothing for you to do. “Hello?”

 

“I thought she was one of them.” Frisk said. They never went to your school, but they went missing for a whole month before appearing again with all the monsters. “I thought she was one of them and I̷̮̤̫̱͔̭ ̸̨͎͓͎̦ͅk̶̢̟̖̪̮͜i̵̘͚̙͙̺̳l̶̘͕͕̥̦̳l̷̡̤̣͙̰͖e̶̥̲͈̗͙̱ḑ̶̡̢̻̘̺ ̶̳͎̟͎̳ͅh̷̬̝͕̦̻ͅe̸̜̞̘̗̫̲r̸̢̢͓͓̖̗.̶̣̪̳̟̼͈”

“I thought she was going to hurt me.” Flowey said. Flowey was all alone down there and couldn’t risk being killed. “I thought she was going to hurt me and I̷̮̤̫̱͔̭ ̸̨͎͓͎̦ͅk̶̢̟̖̪̮͜i̵̘͚̙͙̺̳l̶̘͕͕̥̦̳l̷̡̤̣͙̰͖e̶̥̲͈̗͙̱ḑ̶̡̢̻̘̺ ̶̳͎̟͎̳ͅh̷̬̝͕̦̻ͅe̸̜̞̘̗̫̲r̸̢̢͓͓̖̗.̶̣̪̳̟̼͈”

 

Their voices rang in tune with each other like a horrifying choir _“You let her walk alone, though. Actually, I think you killed her.”_

The dialtone drummed in your ears, and you hung up the phone.

 

“Being alone is better… I can’t risk it.” You breathed out tiredly. “I haven’t gotten over her, after all these years… what makes you think I can handle new friends?”

 

“Hypocrite.” Flowey snapped, his face scrunched like he ate something sour or smelled something foul. His eyes caved in, his pupils dilated and glowing with a bright, white magic. He practically groaned as his stem raised him higher, looming over you “H Y P O C R I T E .”

 

The plant towered, you cowered in his shadow.

“̶T̸E̴A̴C̵H̸ ̷M̶E̶ ̷T̴O̸ ̶G̶E̵T̵ ̶O̵V̸E̸R̸ ̴M̴Y̵S̸E̸L̸F̴.̵ ̴A̶N̴D̶ ̴Y̷O̶U̷ ̵C̸A̶N̶’̸T̵ ̶G̷E̴T̵ ̶O̷V̴E̴R̷ ̷Y̵O̸U̶.̴”̶ ̴

Flowey’s voice cackled, his laughter cracked, he was howling like a maniac. Suddenly his face changed, his menacing smile plastered but his eyes and other features morphed to look exactly like you. His voice wavered, but then he mimicked exactly how you sounded.

 

“̸M̶A̶K̶E̸ ̴F̵L̴O̵W̵E̴Y̵ ̶T̴E̸L̸L̴ ̸H̴I̴S̸ ̵T̵A̵L̸E̶ ̴T̵O̵ ̷M̶E̷.̷ ̴U̴S̴E̶ ̴H̶I̴M̵ ̵A̸S̶ ̵A̶ ̶R̸E̸P̸O̷R̵T̸.̶ ̷B̷U̴T̴ ̷I̷ ̸C̶O̸U̵L̷D̵ ̶N̴E̸V̶E̷R̵ ̸T̸E̷L̸L̷ ̷H̶I̶M̶ ̵M̵Y̴ ̸O̴W̶N̸.̴ ̷I̵ ̴C̵A̴N̸’̸T̵ ̸T̵R̶U̸S̴T̸ ̷H̸I̴M̴ ̴E̴V̵E̵N̵ ̸W̷H̸E̸N̷ ̸I̴ ̵T̴E̵L̷L̴ ̵H̵I̷M̶ ̷T̴O̷ ̶T̵R̴U̴S̴T̴ ̷M̸E̶.̸”̸  
  
You wanted to speak, but suddenly you found a vine pushing its way into your mouth. Your eyes welled up with tears, pleadingly looking up to the giant Flowey that only continued to mock and berate you.

“̶F̷R̸I̸S̵K̷ ̶C̸A̷N̵’̴T̴ ̸T̵E̴L̵L̵ ̷M̶E̴ ̷W̵H̸A̵T̸ ̵T̸O̸ ̷D̸O̸.̶ ̴B̸E̶C̷A̴U̶S̵E̷ ̸T̴H̷E̵Y̶ ̶A̶R̸E̷N̵’̴T̵ ̴M̶Y̷ ̵F̴R̴I̵E̶N̸D̴.̵ ̵I̶ ̵S̸H̴O̷U̴L̶D̴ ̶H̵A̶V̶E̶ ̶B̴E̶E̵N̵ ̵T̷H̴E̸ ̷O̷N̷E̶ ̴T̷O̵ ̵F̸I̶N̸D̷ ̸T̷H̴E̷ ̸M̸O̵N̵S̴T̶E̴R̷S̶.̶ ̷I̴ ̵W̷O̴U̷L̷D̴ ̶H̷A̴V̴E̵ ̵S̶A̶V̵E̷D̶ ̶H̷E̵R̵.̷ ̴I̶ ̷W̶O̷U̵L̵D̶ ̴H̶A̷V̸E̷ ̷S̶A̴V̶E̸D̸ ̷N̷O̵T̷ ̶J̴U̵S̴T̶ ̴M̴O̷N̶S̸T̵E̷R̶S̷ ̸B̵U̸T̵ ̷E̶V̷E̴R̸Y̸O̴N̸E̸.̷”̵

His tendril wriggled down and through your body. You could feel him deep in the pits of your stomach. You were going to burst.

 

Flowey’s voice suddenly returned to normal, but you continued to gag and choke on him as he muttered softly _“Maybe we aren’t exactly alike… but we have similarities.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Y̷o̸u̶ ̸s̶l̴o̷w̶l̷y̷ ̸o̵p̸e̴n̵ ̵y̵o̷u̶r̵ ̶e̵y̴e̴s̵,̶ ̸b̵l̷i̸n̷k̷i̴n̵g̶ ̴a̴n̸d̵ ̷l̴e̷t̴t̵i̶n̵g̴ ̸t̶h̵e̷ ̴t̴i̶n̷y̸ ̶f̵l̷o̵w̶e̶r̷p̶e̴t̴a̴l̵s̵ ̵f̷a̷l̵l̵ ̴a̷w̶a̷y̴ ̵f̷r̷o̵m̵ ̸y̶o̵u̷r̴ ̵e̷y̷e̸l̶i̷d̸s̷.̴

 

Sighing out shakily, you suddenly find yourself frozen and unable to move your body. Looking around, at the corner of your eye you see Flowey. A small vine held up something over head, but soon you realized your entire body was wrapped up in vines and leaves.

Grunting, this time more audibly to be heard, suddenly Flowey’s vines retract themselves, only the (now obvious) umbrella remained lifted over the two of you.

“Thanks…” You said softly, carefully sitting up as you tried to shake your head to get rid of the sleepy groggy feeling that remained. Like the other times you went to bed, you woke up so refreshed that your body was fully healed again, as if your leg had never kicked its way through a bridge. Flowey suddenly shoved the umbrella against you, and you struggled to hold it as he mumbled “Yeah, you’re welcome.”

The two of you were quiet then for a moment, which you definitely didn’t mind. Your head was pounding and you were trying to get more awake. It was always the first five minutes of waking up that you found yourself still confused and in a dream-like state. Your brain was processing the real world, and your dream(or nightmare) was slowly vanishing like it had never happened.

 

“You were…” Flowey started, gaining your attention as you looked his way. And in time with you looking to him, he looked elsewhere “You were restless… but I didn’t care to wake you up.”

“...thanks.” You thanked him again, even though you remembered at least wanting some sort of escape from the dream. You knew he was in it, but there were others as well. Your head was pounding suddenly. You adjusted the umbrella in your hands, gripping onto the base tightly as if any moment you could let go. You didn’t remember it drizzling, but tiny water droplets fell and created a soft rhythm against the umbrella’s stretched and lanky canopy. Looking down, you knew that your leg had healed, but you at least expected the scars to remain. Surprisingly enough, it was completely gone.

As if noticing your confusion, Flowey mentioned “I have healing magic.”

You looked to him, finally your sleepy haze fell away, and your eyes could focus. The gears in your brain started to turn “You have healing magic?”

“Did you really think you would fall underground and suddenly sprout _magic abilities?_ ” Flowey snorted, rolling his beady eyes as he brushed a vine over your leg. Your pants were torn, but at least your leg wasn’t anymore. “I figured while you’re sleeping I could heal your leg. Maybe now you don’t have to limp around like some overweight beast.”

_“Gee, Flowey.”_ You wrinkled your nose at him “I didn’t know you cared. Did you heal me last time then?”

His whole head turned away from you, showing you the back of his petals “Tch. _Duh._ ”

 

_So Flowey had found a way into the bedroom to not only tuck you in and give you pie, but he healed you._

_You remembered a comforting embrace in that dream…_

 

“To be honest…” He distracted you from your own thoughts with his suddenly gentle tone, though he kept facing away “I’ve never felt this… _relaxed?_ I guess. I haven’t been this calm around someone since…”

His soft words had trailed off then, Flowey suddenly sank into the wet dirt, vanishing for a moment before, as he had been doing for hours now, popping up further down; a signal that he was ready to move on.

 

_Were you?_

 

“Let’s just get going!” He called back to you. You slowly lifted to your feet and decided to wrap your coat around your waist this time. Rolling up your pant legs to transform them into shorts, and then rolling up your sleeves before slipping your bag onto your back with a grunt.

Flowey had admitted he felt suddenly calm and relaxed around you, but the last time he felt this way he wouldn’t say. It made you curious and wondering what he was about to say. But suddenly a wave of wonder and concern washed over you, it was so sudden that your face couldn’t hide how you were feeling, leaving you in a small frown as you slowly walked to follow Flowey’s lead.

Flowey had opened up to you back when you two first met at his home, and then when he asked for your story you told him absolutely nothing. You didn’t lie at the time, you truly thought you had no great story to tell… though even Flowey then had picked up that you weren’t being fully honest, and simply assumed someone else had sent you down to do something to him. You spent a whole day in the ruins, according to Flowey, at least. And it was a full day to get to know Flowey before you left through Snowdin and now with him in Waterfall. You two spent countless amounts of hours together and you had nothing to show for it, you knew plenty about Flowey, but he knew nothing about you… and you were starting to feel crappy for it.

 

Flowey almost sank into the ground to continue but you quickly spoke up “Flowey, wait.”

He had curled up, preparing himself to sink into the Earth, and he froze in place other than turning his head to look your way _“What?”_

“I have to admit something.” You mumbled, making it right next to him then. You held the umbrella over the two of you, the light drizzle that leaked from the distant ceiling of the cavern continued to patter gently against the object in your hand “You asked me… back at your place… if I had a story of my own? Why I’m down here and what not, remember?”

He continued to stare at you, his expression somewhat mellow, and you suddenly looked away “I guess you were right, I wasn’t entirely being honest. I lied about not having anything interesting to say about myself… actually, even though I came down here for my own means… I do have stuff about my past that I’d… really want to get off my chest. It’s only fair, you told me almost everything about you and yet you don’t know anything about--”

You hadn’t realized he had sprouted a vine until it was too late, and the thin plant pressed against your lips. It was as gentle as a kiss, and it silenced you quite easily. You blinked speechlessly at him as he continued to stare.

 

“Tell me whenever you’re ready, I won’t force you.” Flowey said lightly.

 

You furrowed your brows thoughtfully, and he sighed as he continued, smirking somewhat “There are no more resets, at least, from what Frisk had promised me and that... Smiley Trashbag… this is it, whatever happens is officially permanent. This is the end.” He paused, pulling the vine away from your lips, almost as if he brushed it delicately before returning it to the earth. His small smile was genuine, his calm demeanor strange but very inviting. “I always get a feeling that… I can’t trust Frisk, I feel that they’re lying… they’ll reset any moment and we’ll be back to square one and I’ll look like an idiot but... It hasn’t. As simple as that… for years it hasn’t… so now I just have to believe that everything will take its course. Whatever I do is permanent, so whatever you do… try not to regret it.” He looked away finally, breaking the spell so you could also shyly look away. Flowey then mumbled “Tell me when you’re comfortable, don’t feel obligated or forced, I don’t give a shit and it’s not that big of a deal that you have to feel pressured.”

His words made you rather warm inside, and you found yourself kneeling right next to him. He quickly looked back to you, his eyes widened. But like before, as you leaned closer to him, you saw his walls gently come down. The tiny barriers that hid his truths seemed to part ways for you, because as you inched closer, he closed his eyes, and he _definitely_ puckered his lips and leaned forward, ready for a kiss…

You wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly. Your face straight and plain, but in the back of your mind you were smiling at his actions. Flowey wanted a kiss, it was obvious he had gotten so used to your kisses that every time you came too close it was basically expected. His body stiffened in your grasp, but he eventually relaxed in your embrace.

 

“Let’s keep moving. Hotland isn’t too far now.” He reassured you with a nod, you finally pulled back and nodded as well before standing to your feet. He sank into the ground, appearing a few feet ahead of you, showing you the way.

You were trying not to laugh at the name _Hotland._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > "Flowey I keep having weird dreams of me deepthroating you."  
> > "Flower cock in MY mouth? It's more likely than you think."  
> > ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> > Flowjo: "I can't control what your dreams are weirdo."


	10. You Thought You Had It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your words were cut short by your own loss of breath. The realization that you were in love with her came as quick as it left. But you couldn’t admit it to yourself, let alone Flowey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Okay this chapter is also short, i am ashamed  
> > *performs seppuku*
> 
> > Not to sound cocky but I'm sure everyone out there, artists and writers alike(and then some), have written or drawn something they thought was so deep, meaningful, and beautiful that they cried while working on it, yeah? I can't be the only one that gets hella emotional during deep shit of my own creation.  
> > Cuz I'll admit I cried a little while writing this.  
> > Fuck the police.  
> > (jk)  
> > Tags were Updated.

###  **Chapter Ten:** ** _You Thought You Had It_**

There it was, that long silence again.

Ever since the echo flower room, everything felt more…  _ serious. _

Suddenly it was hard to bring up anything without it feeling personal, you felt remorse and pity even though you knew you definitely weren’t in the right position to feel so for Flowey. After all, you were in the same place as him. Losing people the two of you held dear, choosing solitude for the sake of everyone else’s happiness… getting defensive to protect yourselves.

And you didn’t realize it then, but now you noted how you were doing some type of experiment on Flowey. Simply testing the waters to see how much he suddenly cared about you like you did for him. You stopped giving him any kisses( _ smoochin’s _ ) and resorted to hugs, and so far, he’s turned to mush from the lack of them. You wondered if he would ask you about it, but you kept that to yourself for now, simply enjoying watching Flowey go from this insane crazed soulless flower to this soft and heartfelt being. You wanted to cherish this.

 

The drizzle had turned into rain almost as soon as you heard a distant melody. 

It was faint, but there, and you squeezed the hilt of the umbrella as the roof of the cavern continued to drip over the two of you. There must have been a heavier leak somewhere on the ceiling for it to be pouring like rain. The melodies echo bounced from the distance, and while you can’t make out the pattern, you knew it was some sort of song. However due to how far you two were, it didn’t sound like much.

“What is that?” You asked finally, breaking the silence between you two. Flowey lifted his head a bit as you caught up to stand beside him. He lightly tilted his head, one flower petal stretched as if it were performing like an ear, and he was silent as he listened.

 

The distant melody continued.

 

“Just ignore it.” He finally muttered, sinking into the earth to continue the walk in silence.

Your curiousity made you continue wondering about it anyway, furrowing your brow as you continued to follow Flowey. Now that there was rain pouring, the warm humidity had subsided and left a cool and quite refreshing air about Waterfall. Every now and again you felt a gentle breeze lightly grace your skin, and you would take in a breath to steal said breeze into your lungs. Who knew when you would inhale fresh air again?

You couldn’t shake the music away, as you kept following Flowey, the music grew louder, more defined, and suddenly you could at least make out what sort of sounds you were hearing. It sounded somewhat like a music box, the keys twinkling gently along the walls, and finally it sounded like a child-like song. It was very beautiful.

As you two finally entered a rather dark hall, you knew it was in the same room. The rain had stopped pouring on you, but from what you saw not too far from where you stood, it continued. The rain was now solely centered on, what appeared to be, a statue at the center of the dark area that had a small ray of sunlight beaming down on it; almost like a spotlight. You shook your umbrella a bit, letting the raindrops fall off of its canopy, before closing it fully. The hall bounced with the repetitive sounds, like a lullaby trying to take you back into a slumber.

 

_ The song sounded like a story you never quite heard before. _

 

You slowly walked up to approach the statue, the sounds of dripping rain and the musical melody filled you with a beautiful calm. You sighed almost romantically as you viewed the piece of art, the statue looked to be shaped like a hunched over monster, large horns on either side of its head, and tucked underneath its arms was an umbrella to protect it from the rain that trickled down and washed away at the stone. A musical mechanism seemed to be active within the statue, activated by the water drops that hit each key note perfectly and in a repeating pattern. You took a step back to fully view the marvel, before carefully pulling out your notebook to write.

It’s only half way through your entry that you realized Flowey wasn’t with you, and when you turned your head around, you spotted him at the end of the hall from wence you came, simply staring off towards you in the dark. The entire cavern had darkened, but only because there was a spotlight pouring sun down over the statue to make it more known and show its importance. You couldn’t tell whether it was still the same sun you knew earlier when you had left the ruins, or if it was another day’s sun that had passed.

“Why are you all the way over there?” You called out to him, and though he hesitated, he slowly surfed through the dirt to make his way towards you. The two of you stood side by side looking the statue over for a silent moment, before you looked back at him “Is something wrong?”

 

“This is Asriel’s memorial.” Flowey said almost bluntly. His brows were furrowed, his lips almost in a pout as he stared at the statue, ignoring your eyes completely “This was made the day he died.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but couldn’t find anything to say, so you looked back to the statue quietly.

“The melody is… very nostalgic.” He added, clicking his tongue as if he had said something wrong, however he continued “But… not a good nostalgic, I guess.”

You frown slightly at this “Why is this so bad to you?”

“Duh.” Flowey rolled his eyes “It’s a reminder of him being dead. If you think death is fucking great then by all means enjoy the view, but this is what I think about this stupid statue; the song's been playing nonstop and drives me insane to the  _ point  _ of wanting to kill myself. It pisses me off.”

Flowey sounded completely annoyed at the statue, now looking away from it and you, almost angrily. 

 

“It’s just a memory though…” You added softly, thoughtfully mentioning “It’s not meant for torture… it’s just a terrible past memory that… reminds you you’ve survived it and moved forward. Think of this as a trophy rather than something dark.”

“But I wasn’t supposed to survive it.” His main stem stretched up, so that he could face you at your height. You pulled your head back, however that only made Flowey move forward so his face was closer to yours as he responded in a low and somewhat distant tone “If Alphys never did that dumb experiment with Asriel’s ashes and with stupid DETERMINATION, I wouldn’t be here.”

Being face to face with a scowling flower was somewhat intimidating, you found yourself slowly lowering down to sit on the ground. Once again, he followed, shrinking the rest of his plant-like body into the dirt. You wrapped your arm around him, causing his annoyed expression to almost instantly shift. Suddenly he was frowning, his brows arching in surprise and his eyes widening while looking downward. With his head lowering, and his petals drooping, it was as if a wave of depression had changed his mood on the subject, from anger to sadness. A tiny vine erupted from the dirt, in response to your touch, and it almost carefully wrapped itself around the arm that you had carefully draped around Flowey. Of course he had no shoulders for you to support your arm on, but you let it hover to show that you were trying to keep him close, and soon enough the tiny vine that wrapped around your arm was used as a support. It allowed you to rest your arm heavily on it all the while still keeping it around Flowey.

 

“I lost my best friend when I was little.” You figured now was as good of a time as any to mention a tragedy of your own. While not on the same level as dying, it related to something just as close. He kept his head down to hide his face, a shadow hiding it away as you carried on with your story “We were so close… she was the reason I went outside to play, the reason I kept going… we told each other stories, we were curious and explored around, and even if I was the book nerd in the corner reading up on everything, she was the one who wanted to find out in person. She wanted to discover things for herself. Just imagine this nerd and this active, fit, lively girl being best friends.”

You thought of a couple in particular, but you brushed them aside in your mind.

“She was popular and got along with everyone, the most amazing dancer… she always accepted me no matter what and I thought we would grow up together. I thought we would grow older together and just maybe we would…” Your words were cut short by your own loss of breath. The realization that you were in love with her came as quick as it left.

 

_ But you couldn’t admit it to yourself, let alone Flowey. _

 

You ignored it, swallowed it all down, and continued “She vanished one day… she went hiking on mount Ebott and just never came back… and I knew something had happened, but my parents always told me some lie, trying to guess at how  _ dumb _ I was. They told me she went on vacation…”

Suddenly your throat was getting sore, your eyes were welling up with tears that you refused to let fall “I thought it was monsters. I  _ knew  _ it was monsters. Or maybe… someone had just kidnapped her, taken her away from me. Because of her though I couldn’t… I couldn’t trust anyone. I never made a friend since her I just... I always blamed everyone else, I blamed her for me not being able to make friends but I just…”

You realized you were rambling, and immediately stopped talking. Flowey kept his head lowered.

 

As if the melody had been silent for the sake of your tale, you heard it return to ringing in your ears, the world around you filling with natural and mechanical music once more. “I have fond memories of her, though.” You finally added softly “Being with her, and even dancing as if I  _ were  _ her. Even in… someone’s death… it shouldn’t be an angry or hateful tragedy you constantly mourn…”

You really  _ were _ a  _ hypocrite. _ You were mourning right now.

“Think from Asriel’s perspective, would he really want you to mourn over him forever? Or to always get pissed off when near anything that relates to him?”

 

It wasn’t until then that you realized Flowey was snuggling into your side. His head was heavily leaned against your ribs, the vine around your arm loosened, causing your arm to drop a bit. However you recovered just so you could let a hand delicately brush against his petals. “It’s okay to find happiness, Flowey.”

The two of you then sat there together, simply looking back at the statue and letting the music take you away. This time around, the silence was rather soothing, calming your own nerves, and you assured yourself that they were calming Flowey’s too. He didn’t exactly say anything else in response, whether he wanted to object or not you wouldn’t know since he chose silence over both options, but soon enough you blurted out “In memory of Asriel Dreemurr, little prince of the underground.”

Nodding firmly as you stared at the statue, suddenly you heard Flowey repeat your words:

 

_ “In memory of Asriel, prince of the underground.” _

 

You looked his way just as he had finished, and he glanced back at you before returning his attention to the statue. The two of you had come so far since when you first met. Flowey had turned another cheek, his acts of violence completely simmered away(almost). As if you were dealing with an entirely different person altogether.

You added then “And in honor of prince Flowey, new ruler of the underground!”

“Wow.” Flowey snorted, but you nudged him and mumbled under your breath  _ “You gotta repeat it, this is your initiation.” _

The golden flower wrinkled his non-existent nose “Aren’t you being just a  _ bit  _ childish?”

You pouted coyly “Flowey~” Whining lightly just as he sighed heavily, though you smiled as he nonchalantly repeated “And in honor of  _ King  _ Flowey, new  _ overlord  _ of the underground.”

“Close enough.” You patted his head as you lifted back up to your feet, opening the umbrella once more in preparation of leaving. The music continued as you sighed “Let’s get back on track then.”

 

“If this is going to be meant for me, can we find a way to break the music box and change that damned song?” Flowey suddenly asked quickly, looking up to you almost with wonder in his eyes. You looked back down at him with a smirk “Well, what would you want it to be instead?” Flowey stuck out his tongue and winked rather playfully towards you “Something with a badass guitar would be nice.”

“I definitely did not imagine you as the rocker type.” You tried not to chuckle, but it escaped anyway, and he started to bang his head as if at a concert. You hummed “I don’t see a way of replacing the song unless we actually break the statue down, but you can always make up your own tune with it whenever you gotta go through here. Pick up beatboxing, Flowjo. Get creative.” You gestured with your head for him to lead again, and Flowey continued to rock his head back and forth as he surfed through the earth.

 

All the while he was beatboxing, or at least trying his best to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Just imagine DJ Flowjo beatboxing Hopes and Dreams.
> 
> > That's actually what he's implying to the reader, he wants to put a guitar rendition of Hopes and Dreams inside the statue.
> 
> > Flowey hardcore af.  
> (EDIT)  
> > Also wtf does slow burn mean??? Like I'm seeing like 'slow burn fic' and shit like why are you gonna burn it don't do that thats rude  
> (EDIT EDIT)  
> > though i was also told it meant its a long fic that just takes a slow pace to get to certain points but ive read this 'slow burn' shit and like??? some people are getting to banging at like chapter 3?? slow burn my ass?


	11. And He Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey’s voice suddenly picked up, causing you to look back at him, and he added “Did you try to kill yourself, too?”  
> “I…”   
> _...Well? Did you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I was gonna add the tag ‘slow burn’ but then I realized "naw it aint slow burn lolol"
> 
> > After this chapter I might need to take a break to focus on life.  
> > I have not only a dating sim to focus on, but work and art and projects too.  
> > Though breaks to me aren’t that long. And I usually end up writing even when I shouldn’t be so.  
> > ...But I hope everyone’s enjoyed my story so far, I appreciate everyone sticking by this and kudo’ing me. <3 Please comment too, I always read and appreciate them! owo and i want more--

###  **Chapter Eleven:** ** _And He Let Go_**

It didn’t matter whether Flowey didn’t want to rush you to talk about yourself or not, it was still stuck on your mind. You were hoping to get things off your chest, and you really wanted to.

You were pretty sure you were ready to tell your story.

After all, a part of you felt that telling Flowey would do no harm, he was under unfortunate but blessed circumstances. It’s not like he can talk and mock your past to someone else, right? They were negative thoughts of course, but to you they were mostly positive. You hadn’t thought much over it, but wondering about it now, you could tell that the years Flowey’s been down here and alone have brought a sense of enlightenment and maturity. Even though Flowey was still struggling to grasp his purpose for being banished alone, even if he was still trying to control his thought process, even if he was still on the edge of believing and disbelieving in his emotions, Flowey was learning to understand himself…

 

_ And it was time you did too. _

 

Soon enough as the two of you continued ahead, the environment grew darker, damper, and the drops of water from the distant ceiling returned to pouring like rain; almost like a storm. For a moment, you even forgot you were underground, you started to believe that you would hear thunder any second, but the reminder that it would never come made you somewhat troubled. How long had it been now? Would you actually find a way back home? The time spent down here has made you ponder your entire life, as if you were being judged by unseen forces. Even Flowey, who knew nothing about you, gave you the feeling that everytime he looked your way you were being judged by all the moves you made in your troubled past and your confusing present. He was with you from the beginning, and even when you slept your dreams seemed to be cluttered by him.

But then again, compared to his life, your life was far more simple.

You both suffered loss, but you weren’t turned into a soulless flower.

 

You accidentally walked right into Flowey then, the toe of your boot giving him a rough nudge.

**“Hey!”** He yelped, trying his best not to fall forward, though his stem was longer than his leafy arms, so he wasn’t able to keep himself from barely smacking into the dirt. You had a nervous smile on your lips, trying not to laugh but also trying to show you were apologizing without words as you watched him recuperate, and he glared up at you in the dark. His eyes were glowing, however it wasn’t from that spark of magic he often used to transform and morph his face, it was actually a reflection from another light source. Even in the dark, there was a gentle light that coated everything around the two of you, and as you turned and realized where it came from, you gasped in awe.

 

Almost breathless, you muttered, eyeing the building in the distance  _ “What’s that…?” _

 

There in the distance stood a grand castle, and the high ceiling of the underground flickered with makeshift starlight. The castle looked fairly old, even from how far you were, you could easily tell that it had been abandoned many years ago from how plant life crawled over it all, some of the towers that once stood strong had crumbled down, but the bright blue light from the stars up above and from the castle itself was what reflected off of Flowey’s eyes, and your own, as the two of you now stood there staring off and over the castle as if it really were as beautiful as it was.

Just imagining how it looked long ago made you smile, your imagination running wild at the thought that there once were people, monsters, living a day to day life in a busy medieval-like city. A king, a ruler, and their people. Would life had been easier if you had fallen underground and chosen to stay? Would things have been different today? Would you have friends? And a better family?

 

Would you and Flowey still--

 

“That’s Asgore’s castle.” Flowey finally answered your question(probably just so that he could inturrupt your thought process, considering you were very expressive you just  _ knew  _ that Flowey probably understood fully well that you were in the middle of thinking of  _ things _ ), though you didn’t look at him in any way, your eyes were glued to the building, and your fingers gripping the umbrella hilt tightly. He proceeded nonetheless “It’s technically called New Home, my last place you visited is the city of…  _ Home… _ ” He suddenly let out a tiny laugh, though you couldn’t help but smile at this as well as he added quickly “King Assclown was never good with names, hence why the towns down here are, well, Waterfall, Hotland, etc.”

“That place looks huge…” You murmured in awe, awestruck once more and unafraid to admit it “Gosh… I wish I could’ve… been here to see it when it was just built or… something, wow. What was it like to live here? What was it like to… live in royalty.”

 

You didn’t realize what you had done, not at the moment.

 

You were so focused on the city, you didn’t notice Flowey’s stare. Right at you, gazing over your face as if curiously wondering what was on your mind. It felt like the same curious stare that you had felt the moment you laid eyes on Snowdin after Flowey had opened the doors for you at the end of the ruins, those beady eyes staring at you in wonder as you stared at something else entirely. You couldn’t help it, you were an archaeologist for a reason, after all. But as soon as you finally did pay him any attention, Flowey had already looked away “It’s not as exciting as you think. The only reason we moved further down was for the sake of--”

He suddenly hesitated, and practically flinched as if he had been hit in the gut. You quickly turned yourself fully to face him, alerted and leaning a bit closer to him “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Flowey managed to lower his eyes down to the earth, doing his very best to ignore your face probably. “Just…”

 

Realization finally hit you.  _ Oh, right. _

 

“Flowey, it’s okay.” You knelt down, letting the knees of your skin press into the wet dirt and not caring much for it. You fell(forcefully) down into the underground who knew how long ago, whether it had been just two or three days, or whether your one week’s time was up, you had lost track and were starting to slowly not even care about it. Your fashion was destroyed and you probably looked as filthy as you felt. But you reached out a hand to carefully brush your fingertips over his topmost petal “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want, I completely--”

 

_ “Chara.” _

 

You blinked “Huh?”

Flowey suddenly turned his gaze towards you, his eyes practically piercing your soul with such an intense stare. Unwavering, unfearful, almost lost... but he remained silent. He somewhat looked to be in a trance-like state, suddenly he looked tired. Overwhelmed, drifting away, Flowey looked abandoned and so far off as if he weren’t even right next to you. And yet he continued to stare at you, expecting something, maybe he was just expecting anything at this point, some sort of reaction… but there was nothing you could really give. You had no idea what he meant, who he said, who  _ Chara  _ was, and there was no way to could exactly respond.

“Flowey…” You figured now was as good a time as any, and you slowly sat yourself down in the dirt, crossing your legs in front of you and keeping the umbrella overhead. You dared to look away from him and back to the castle far out of reach. The underground was so vast... it felt like the castle stood millions of miles away, just as when you expected the ceilings of the underground to be so low, you were in utter shock at how high they were. So high that the glowing gemstones and lights shined like false stars. The underground was a whole new world, and it was time to tell Flowey about your own world; your life.

 

“When I was little…” You started with a shaky breath, trying to ignore Flowey’s intense gaze fixated on you. Unwavering, perhaps he was still in his own trance trying to piece together what he had just stumbled into… but you pushed on with your tale. “I had problems. The war between monsters and humans was so long ago that, well… to people on the surface it became myth, legend? I guess… it just became some scary story to keep kids inside late at night. Even when children would start to vanish, a lot of people either claimed they ran off on vacation--”

 

_ Mom… Dad… _

 

“--or that it was something else entirely. I just, I always liked the idea of monsters living with us. Being around us… I liked the idea of there just being something  _ else  _ out there, something unlike humankind… long ago humans could use magic but, suddenly we depended on technology instead, suddenly we lost everything we once had, sacrificed it all because of the fear that… well, monsters could take human souls and we couldn’t take theirs.”

You swallowed the lump forming in your throat, never removing your eyes from the castle as you searched and prodded your own brain, reminding yourself of the knowledge not only had you studied and learned on your own, but discovered underground during your stay as well “I mean, it even sounds strange. All monsters can take any human soul… but humans can only take the monster souls of  _ Boss Monsters _ . But it was still wrong of us all to just assume all monsters would do this, it was still wrong of humans to just shove everyone underground…”

 

There she was then, up in the dark amongst the flickering gems that made the ceiling of the cavern look like stars… the girl danced in her tutu on her ballet shoes, as graceful as you always remembered.

 

“I was a loner.” You continued almost breathlessly “I still am at heart, I don’t think it’ll ever go away, introverted, a hermit… permanent-loneliness. But I had a best friend… and she was popular amongst all the other kids. Everyone wanted to be her friend, and she was friends with everybody but… she chose me as the best. She would come over and we’d hang out all the time, go out and play… she kept me active and I guess I kept her informed. Like me, she loved the idea of monsters truly existing. They were out there somewhere, and we would read up on them together, we would… we would...”

You quickly closed the umbrella and set it beside you, to just let the rain pour over your entirety. You could feel your soul tugging at your chest, begging to be released out there, dancing in the glittering skies with your friend. You knew you were crying, the cold water that dripped over your face cleared away the hot tears, an easy disguise so that Flowey couldn’t see you in such a state.  _ Again _ , at least… other than the very first moment you two met and you were crying out for help.

_ And he came _ .

You weren’t afraid of him. You were sure that your fear of him had gone away, but the fear of judgement was still there. Of being mocked, ridiculed, for how you felt these things and openly expressed them even when you didn’t want to. So expressive… compared to Frisk who had a tone about them to be taken seriously, less animated than you but more in depth. Hiding your tears in the cool waters of the Waterfall rain, you kept going.

“She was my everything and she showed me how to live and love and, just appreciate everything as it came. She opened me up… and then one day…” The memory you had, a dream not long ago, of her heading up the mountain to hike without you. She was alone, and you let her go. “One day she goes up mount Ebott and just never comes back. I waited all day for her, so when she was done with her hike we could go home together… but it became night time, my parents made me come inside, and the next day she... her parents called her in as missing.”

“I looked everywhere; All our hideouts, all our favorite places, but no one had seen her, no one but me. I was the last to watch her leave, I let her go without me… and I regretted it, and it stung… she had left me without even saying goodbye.”

“And I blamed her for everything at first. Why I couldn’t make anymore friends, why I couldn’t trust myself to make any… my best friend was gone, I could never make another friend. They’d just vanish too… everyone leaves eventually, right?”

“With her around I could at  _ least _ survive my parents, but… when she left, I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt… not only did I close myself in, but my parents helped me do that. They even marched to my school to shout at my teacher for teaching me about monsters. I couldn’t tell them I wanted to study them, I wanted to learn more about them… I couldn’t tell them I wanted to become an archaeologist and… historian someone… someone who just…”

 

The jig was up, you wiped your eyes even though the rain was washing away your sorrows. You couldn’t hide it anymore that you were crying your eyes out, then again you realized your voice had probably been cracking like a kid going through puberty during the entire speech. It was safe to say that Flowey was smart enough to get when someone was upset, and rain couldn’t hide everything. But zoning back into reality, the dancing child faded as nothing more than a pleasant memory, and it was just you and Flowey now… who thankfully had abandoned staring at you and was looking at the castle as well. “Work was my escape. It wasn’t that no one liked me, I just didn’t want to suffer anymore, not again.. I didn’t want to live in a world without her, in a world--”

 

“Without  _ love? _ ”

 

Flowey’s voice suddenly picked up, causing you to look back at him, and he added “Did you try to kill yourself, too?”

 

“I…” 

 

_...Well? Did you? _

 

“No…” You managed finally, thankfully. “I was afraid… afraid of what might happen. What happens after death? Do we get a new life? Do we begin again? Or does it all just end? I’m a sucker for reading up and gathering info but there’s never been solid evidence on what comes after death… the unknown scares me. I have no exact religious beliefs, I have no faith in myself let alone someone else to SAVE me when I die… I don’t… I just can’t imagine what it’s like, so I can’t risk it...”

Looking at him, you saw Flowey smiling, but he was silent once again. You figured it was a good sign that you could keep going “I had to stand up to my parents eventually… finally I could… speak to them about what I loved. I felt confident… the moment Frisk came out the underground with all these monsters… the moment I felt…”

You remember somewhat hurting that your best friend never resurfaced with them. You remembered the first person you searched for in the crowds of monsters that young Frisk walked along with. Hunting, a young child searching for their best friend… only to realize that they hadn’t came back with Frisk… they hadn’t, and they never would. But you kept going.

“I felt, relieved. I felt… happy… my parents didn’t want to see them parading into the city but… but I…”

 

You were  _ free. _

 

“I felt free. It was the first time I disobeyed them, they told me to come back, not go near those  _ ‘things’ _ but I just ran with them. My family life shattered, but I started something new. Me and Frisk became great--”

 

_ Friends? _

 

“Me and Frisk… before they vanished I never knew them, I didn’t see them at school, I didn’t see them anywhere I just, one day we just saw their ‘missing child’ ads posted with all the other missing children. But when they came back things changed, when I found out they spent all that time underground, managed to survive and they had resurfaced, I instantly wanted to get to know them. I thought, they would understand me… they would  _ get me.  _ But, no matter how hard I wanted to, I still kept away… I just, kept holding myself back even as he got older together. We went to the same school together, we talked and discussed things all the time about monsters, their origins, they told me and taught me so much, and eventually when my parents tried to force me to choose between continuing to go to college to study monster history… or to follow them, I chose to leave. I left my own parents behind, and while me and Frisk were at school, they left me too. I haven’t heard from them since.”

You found yourself smiling as well, the rain was comforting and cleansing you completely “But I’ve gotten to know Frisk so much, them and their caretaker, Toriel… by the time both of us graduated college, Toriel was there to watch us cross the stage. She was there and, Frisk’s friends Sans, Papyrus… Alphys, Asgore… Undyne they were… they were all there. Everyone was there cheering for Frisk, but they were also cheering for me.”

 

_ Wait… you have friends…? _

 

“I made my own life. I’m still struggling, every day… even now I sometimes just don’t think of Frisk as a friend, just a co-worker. I never hang out with them, I find myself trying to dodge that, somehow. Even after all I’ve done, and how far I’ve gotten myself, I find myself having trouble letting go of the past…”

You suddenly found yourself unable to say anything else. Your words were cut short by your own shaky breath. You were trying to hold back an emotional sob, choking down your tears that continued to remain hidden behind the waters that fell from above. You were pretty sure that you were sitting in a puddle of mud at this point, your clothing slowly soaking up all of the water like a sponge. But you also felt like a heavy weight was lifted from your shoulders, having told your everything to Flowey. Everything up to this point, how you lived, what your life was like, and then the realization that it sounded almost like--

 

Flowey let out a soft laugh.

 

This caught your attention, and you looked to him thoughtfully, furrowed brows as you concentrated on his face that seemed to have darken in the dim light of the cavern. The rain had made his petals droopy now, but you could tell he was using the water as a guise as much as you were. What sort of thoughts and emotions were stirring up inside of him?

“My name was Asriel… Asriel Dreemurr. It’s safe to say that you’ve met King Asgore and Queen Toriel before… they were once my parents.”

 

And so it begun, you crashed through your walls and fears to tell him your everything, and suddenly he was trying to do the same. 

 

“I was a royal child, a  _ ‘boss monster’ _ . I guess… other kids thought it was hard to be friends with me because of my status and who I was born to be,  so I didn’t get to hang out much with anyone my age. I mean, don’t get me wrong I… I remember loving the time I spent with my parents, but I still felt alone.”

Suddenly his breathing hitched, a gasp had escaped him, as if he had seen something he’d never seen before, you even looked away from him and around as if you were trying to spot whatever it was that made him so surprised. But looking back to Flowey you saw that he was simply staring wide eyed at the castle “Then… one day… I guess the day of reckoning…” His voice was so gentle and frail, you almost forgot you were talking to Flowey and not some lost and angered spirit “I heard someone, crying out… calling for help. Naturally, I went to see who it was… and that’s the moment I met, well, my best friend at the time… Chara. A fallen human, the first of many, actually. They were hurt, and upset, so I took them home so that my parents could help.”

His voice was slowly changing, shifting into the familiar voice of the echo flower you heard not too long ago. Asriel’s voice that reassured Flowey that he was loved, and always would be.

Flowey’s voice had vanished and been replaced by Asriel’s as he continued “There was no way for them to get home. At least, none we could think of at the time… so after they stayed for awhile we adopted them into the family. Chara Dreemurr… and we were inseparable, really. Everything they wanted to do I followed them. Everything I wanted to do, everywhere I went, they did the same…”

 

“Maybe… that’s why I couldn’t see it then, how bad this all was going to turn out for us… for me…”

 

You could’ve sworn you heard him whimper as he forced out more words “I was just a kid, desperate for friendship… and to do whatever it took to keep it, even long after they were gone from this world, after Chara died… I tried to aim to please as if… they were still… with me… somewhere. Somehow.”

Eventually his words trailed off into silence, and just as quickly as it came, the moment left, and so did his voice. Flowey’s voice soon enough returned to normal and perked up as if nothing had even happened to begin with “You get the next chapter later on. We should get moving before we both catch a cold!”

 

You found yourself smiling, trying to play off the dark stories the two of you shared with a joke “Aww, but it was getting so good~!”

Flowey’s smile was stiff, but he looked to you with a tilt of his head “No… no it wasn’t…”

 

But when the moment passed once more, he gestured with his head “Let’s get moving, I’ve taken in so much water I could probably piss myself.” He sank into the wet dirt so quickly, that you were stumbling to pick up the umbrella all the while lift and move forward on your confused feet. You were practically tripping over yourself before you finally reached him, and he added “Just remember, Asriel is who I once was… and I’m not him anymore, got it? I don’t want you to confuse us and I don’t want you to  _ misstep.”  _

“I know.” You nodded, a genuine nod, full understanding that Flowey was his own person from now on. You held the umbrella over the two of you, and you knelt down back to his level as he looked up to you curiously. As you slowly leaned closer, returning to your previous studies on how Flowey would react, just as before he didn’t cease to amaze you. You kept your eyes fixated on him as Flowey closed his own and puckered his lips, hoping this time was different than the last few times you denied him of such affections.

 

And like those times, you simply hugged him.

 

You felt him flinch, even mutter something under his breath, but you held onto him as if it were the last hug you could ever give. You knew that was a lie, but it was a nice and comforting embrace of appreciation for him. You opened up to him, you finally opened up to someone. He sure as heck wasn’t a therapist, and he didn’t exactly comment or respond in any way to your story (other than asking if you tried to  _ kill yourself _ ), but he listened... and in turn he told you more. About being a monster once, loving his family, loving the first human to fall underground… but what he avoided to tell you was what exactly caused everything to go downhill from there. Even though you knew bits and pieces on how the story would end, it was better to hear it all laid out by him rather than using assumptions. 

 

And you knew you would wait for him to be ready, just as he had been waiting for you as well.

You realized then that he was hugging you back, his vines wrapped around you to return the embrace that the two of you shared for more than a minute now. As you slowly loosened your hold, he did the same. Looking at him as you pulled away, you saw his flushed face in the dim blue light, and his annoyed expression, ready to finally ask what the hell was happening. 

And indeed he did.

 

Upset over you not kissing him in awhile(even though that’s not how he worded it), he tried to ask “Why are you suddenly playing  _ coy? _ ”

You blinked in confusion, lifting your free hand to rub and wipe at your face to try and clear the rain water as best as you could. It didn’t help all too much of course, no matter how dry your face was, the rest of you was soaked as if you just dived into an ocean “Me? Coy? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“You sure as hell do, you went from annoying  _ ass-kisser _ to _ tree-hugger _ .” He huffed.

 

You snorted “So you were an ass before, and now you’re a tree?”

 

His vines had returned then, almost too quickly for you to react. Naturally you tried to pull away, considering the last time he spontaneously sprouted vines that lunged for you it was during a phase where he wanted to make you choke on them or die by them. The memories of his violent threats of killing you seemed to rush into your brain as you were grabbed. Two of the vines had cupped your cheeks, and another you failed to notice had wrapped around your waist and tugged you closer almost too quickly. You found yourself stumbling forward and down towards Flowey’s level, you breathed out a gasp of shock, before you were silenced with a kiss on your lips.

It wasn’t terribly deep, it wasn’t lewd or uncomfortable, to be honest you wondered if it was even too ‘perfect’ to be true. It wasn’t that you had much to compare it to, considering you had never kissed anyone before on the lips-- let alone a talking flower-- but you did find the kiss to be strangely heated, deep but not deep enough where tongues were flying like in the movies.  _ Thank god there was no tongue involved. _

You found yourself closing your eyes though, returning the kiss to the flower’s lips just as soft yet rough as he was giving you, and almost just as quick as it had came, it left. Flowey gently pushed you away, releasing you from his vines hold as the three sank back into the mud. The sudden push had made you fall back into the dirt, sitting on the earth once more as you gave him a baffled look. Now you could tell the both of you were blushing furiously.

 

“There.” Flowey finally stammered, probably trying to think up a reason for what he had done… some sort of excuse in his usual Flowey nature “A-Aren’t you glad you got that off your chest? I know you’ve been wanting to do that for awhile--”

 

“That was my first kiss.” You admitted under your breath and said this so quickly that you wondered if it was the right thing(or the right time) to mention. Bringing your fingers to your lips, you poked and prodded your bottom one with your index finger as if checking to see if Flowey removed them.

 

Flowey’s eyes were wide just like an owl’s,  _ kinda looked like in anime--  _ “YOUR… YOUR PARENTS MUST HAVE KISSED YOU BEFORE! Those count, ya know!”

 

You suddenly smirked at him, your eyes half-lidded to try and give yourself a dreamy appearance while looking the embarrassed flower over “No, they haven’t… and no… those don’t…”

 

Flowey remained frozen, staring at you like you were an alien from another planet. As if  _ you  _ were the soulless flower and they had just fallen underground from a terrifying(and intentional) rope accident. The thought that this was perhaps his first kiss as well made you smile even more, though your face was heated, and possibly just as red as his so there was no way for you to tease about his blushing. You returned to your kneeling position, and repositioned the umbrella over the two of you.

 

“W-Well…!” Flowey finally started again, puffing his invisible chest, as well as his cheeks “You’re welcome!”

“You like me kissing you, dont’cha Flowey…?” You asked slyly, squinting your eyes at him as you tried not to laugh; however it resulted in you giggling instead.

 

Flowey then exploded. To anyone else it probably looked like he was throwing a tantrum at a candy store for his parents telling him ‘no’ to something, but to you it was the most laughable thing that you had to try and hold down. He was suddenly flailing the leaves on either side of his main stem, yelling complete nonsense as he threw an adorable and flustered shouting match at no one in particular. In bits of his yelling you could make out that he was cursing up a storm as well, then again, you weren’t sure if yelling ‘tits’ was really much of a curse word. But his entire face was now so red that even in the blue light of the makeshift starry sky above couldn’t mask how red he was, golden flower Flowey was suddenly as red as a rose. 

But finally he started to make sense of his words, blurting out in protest as he glared daggers(of denial) your way. “No! It’s not like I like your dumb kisses! I only did that because you…! You wanted me to! I saw it! And you did it before so I figured why the hell shouldn’t I?!”

 

Though soon enough his anger(or embarrassment?) subsided and he huffed out, his lips curved in an unsure line of insecurity as he admitted so easily “Okay... they're  _okay._ ”

You tried to hold back your proud smile, but it escaped and covered your lips anyway “Then more kisses you shall get.” 

 

Though even as you said this, suddenly your heart was racing, pounding so fast against your chest as if you were going to die of a heart attack at any moment. You felt this strange sensation in your stomach, you felt… shy all of a sudden, was it embarrassment? Was it… something else? Butterflies in your belly like the few times you recalled doing presentations in college. The first time you met your best friend, and the moment you watched her leave. An insecure feeling, a gut wrenching feeling, afraid of it to keep going, but afraid you might lose the feeling. Before you knew it, you realized you had been staring Flowey down with probably a similar flustered look he had been giving you.

You pushed the feeling as far away as you could, not forcing it to leave but kindly escorting it to the corner of your brain. Flowey’s shy face had turned away from you as he muttered “Let’s get a move on already! Stop distracting me!” And he sank into the earth and started to poke his head out farther away, leading the way out of the rainy area.

_ What the hell just happened? _ You were worried for yourself as you got back to your feet and stood there to ponder over things. It couldn’t of been that, after teasing Flowey all this time, opening up to him caused you to…  _ feel things?  _ But you couldn’t just deny them! You’d be such a hypocrite, telling Flowey to accept his feelings and things but then denying your own. But then again, you weren’t technically doing that either, were you? You didn’t even know what they were or what was happening. Claiming you were denying these feelings was just as similar to a child claiming they hated broccoli after never having had it, let alone tried it. You weren’t denying the feelings, you just needed time to figure out what they were, what they meant, and whether they were truly supposed to be… well, meant for Flowey.

 

_Ugh, is that some kawaii anime shit running through your head?_

You could’ve sworn your heart beats were sounding like _ ‘doki-doki’  _ on repeat in some weeaboo voice.

 

However it did remind you that, even if the thought of Alphys and Undyne’s strange anime tastes made you shiver and cringe, you found yourself excited to see Alphys’ lab. Not that you had time for it on the surface, but you did enjoy anime and manga. Any fantasy that helped you escape your reality.

Your mind sure was bouncing from one subject to another.

 

As you two returned to your walk, you were trying to process what exactly happened, and why you were suddenly feeling a strange adrenaline rush of anxiety. Concern, feeling self conscious. Oh god, you looked a mess! The humidity returned, it didn’t help that your clothes were completely ruined and had absorbed all that water, the cool damp rain that coated your skin was now converting itself into beads of sweat as the two of you went farther and farther away from where you once were. The ruins felt like so long ago at this point, even Snowdin, though that was closer. Waterfall felt huge compared to the last two places you had been, and soon enough(as you felt the cool and damp, humid temperatures fall just as the hot and steamy temperatures rise) you would be at the next area in no time at all.

You had to prepare to climb a rather tall ledge, just as the rain had finally stopped and you found a rather conveniently placed spot to put your umbrella. You placed it inside with the other abandoned umbrellas before approaching the ledge, pretty much ready to climb it as you had been performing your own stunts your entire time underground. However, you were shocked when Flowey had decided to help(even though you didn’t ask for it and he didn’t offer, simply did it.) He had wrapped a vine around your waist as if he were a protective belt, and then using two other vines he pressed them at the bottoms of your boots to lift you upward. Even Flowey had limits apparently, you could tell because as you were lifted and you held onto the vine at your hips, you could feel the two supporting you from below shake and waver as if you were truly that heavy. You still continued to push back those feelings to the side of your brain as you were slowly and finally placed at the ledge, ignoring your self-conscious questioning if perhaps you were too big. You hurried yourself onto the solid ground, and with Flowey’s help he was able to get you up there rather easily, and join you afterwards with a huff. You expected some snarky remark about your weight, he had done it once before, after all…

 

_ “M̵a̷y̴b̵e̶ ̴n̷o̶w̵ ̵y̵o̷u̴ ̴d̷o̵n̴’̷t̸ ̴h̸a̴v̵e̶ ̶t̸o̸ ̷l̸i̴m̷p̴ ̵a̸r̷o̴u̵n̵d̷ ̸l̸i̷k̷e̵ ̴s̸o̵m̵e̷ ̵o̷v̵e̵r̵w̵e̶i̶g̵h̷t̵ ̶b̷e̶a̵s̸t̶.̵”̵ _

 

But you were surprised (and thankful) when he said nothing, after joining you he returned to leading the way quietly as if he didn’t even notice. Now you were the paranoid one, worrying and wondering what Flowey thought of you. Wow, how the tables have turned.

And right as you reached another hall, there was a neon sign that seemed to still be running quite well, explaining where exactly you had finally made it. The wave of heat in the hallway blasted towards you, the humidity on your skin vanishing and beginning to dry your skin almost as fast as a desert sun probably would. However you were thankful that your clothes were still soaked, or you’d be complaining about something else entirely.

 

You didn’t need to warn Flowey, before you could even open your mouth he simply stretched his vines out and grasped onto you, yanking himself out the slightly dry dirt and practically tucking himself away into your wet shirt. He poked his head out of the collar you two now shared, and even with yourself suddenly turning self-conscious, you didn’t mind his actions. He needed to survive, after all, and back in Snowdin you assured him that he could use you whenever he needed to be moved around in such a way. If where they were headed was as hot and dry as you could tell, Flowey wouldn’t survive travelling through the earth, or at least he would survive just as much as he would in Snowdin-- which was barely.

Just as the blinking neon sign greeted the sentence  _ “WELCOME TO HOTLAND” _ , he did the same as you continued to walk forward with him, the darkness of Waterfall slowly turning into a blinding bright light at the end of the tunnel. You were squinting your eyes as you kept moving, listening to him introduce your next and final destination “And now Hotland. Alphys’ lab isn’t that far, it’s another straight shot ahead and you’ll be home free...”

You shivered and cringed at the name naturally, however for some reason--

 

It was a good tingly shiver? Down your spine?

 

_ The hell? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > This is the end of Waterfall, they will finally be in Hotland, and the half way point of the Underground.  
> > We're establishing the main characters(you, the reader) interests, personality, and they fully explained their background story on why they are who they are. _As well as hinting to their secret kinks and interests such as secretly being a weeaboo._  
>  > This also means that…
> 
> > _So much lemon is going to be in the air._  
>  > Also worth mentioning i have the outlines for the next 12 chapters ready =w= Just so peeps realize I like to plan ahead and this isn’t just off a whim.
> 
> > *whores self out there though that will come out of my break to post another chapter if kudos reach the 65 benchmark*


	12. Deeper You Fell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just looking at him made your stomach back flip, and the thoughts of something else being between the two of you started to roll into your head again, just as they had done before. What feelings were these? They didn’t exactly make sense. Wasn’t this technically _Stockholm syndrome?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > **LEMON LEMON LEMON LEMON ITS RAINING LEMONS IN THIS CHAPTER OMG WARNING YOUVE BEEN WARNED BYE**
> 
> > gdi guys I said **65** , and like not even a few days later I see **80** WTF JESUS??? I needed a break and this is what happened.  
>  > ok imma take an official break after this.

###  **Chapter Twelve:** ** _Deeper You Fell_**

You knew it was no use trying to figure out what day it was in a world with no actual way of telling the time. There was absolutely no sun coming down from the ceiling, the last time you saw any at all was at Asriel’s memorial statue. It wasn’t that long ago, either… however you didn’t care for the time of day; you wanted to know how long you’ve been underground so far.

So, when you first fell... you descended at night but woke up and it was morning. Then when you made it to the ruins you slept at Flowey’s place for the rest of the day. That made two days.

So it was either day three or four of being underground. 

Great, your week was almost over and you still wondered if you should bother trying to get in contact with someone. 

 

It would be better this way though, Frisk would find out either way, and you’d rather they found out through an  _ “I need help” _ phone call than you going missing and not being able to reach them. Frisk probably would have known though no matter what, so in the end it didn’t matter. You were rather surprised that you didn’t seem to care for Frisk’s judgement as much as you had in the beginning when you first fell underground. You remember mostly worried about what Frisk would think of all this(and worried about your career) instead of the safety of your own life, but now you were pretty sure your life was safe and sound( _ pretty sure, _ you trusted Flowey, right?) And thinking positive, at least you weren’t alone the entire time underground or you probably would have gone insane.

Though, you’re pretty sure you already were.

What? You didn’t think that?

 

Looking yourself over, you had a sudden wave of self doubt and a feeling of being self conscious, which was funny considering you never cared for looks and appearances, but now you felt dirty, completely destroyed, and ready to clean yourself up. There were so many waves of different emotions and new feelings coming over you, you went from worrying over your job and not about appearances to giving less than two shits about your job and concerned with how you looked. 

But it had started since that kiss a few minutes ago.

Suddenly you had butterflies in your stomach(or were they spiders?), bad thoughts in your head, and an undying need to experience it again. You two were going to Alphys’ lab who not only made you curious on her tastes in anime, but made you question your own. You admitted you enjoyed anime and just never got around to watching anything… but why the focus and attention on….  _ That kind of anime?  _

Because of  _ that kind of plant,  _ probably.

All the teasing kisses and hugs you had given him only lead to him stealing your first kiss, and now it didn’t feel like playful poking at his nerves anymore. You did it to annoy him, then it lead to him enjoying it and you wanting a confession out of him, and suddenly here you were, the same position as him; wanting more but unable to ask or even put your feelings together in the clustered puzzle that they were. How did that work anyway? Having feelings for a plant that constantly refused his own feelings for himself?

 

You were so glad you were in Hotland and surrounded by lava, it was a great excuse as to why you were so red and hot under the collar.

Flowey, who was in your shirt and clinging to the dampness, wasn’t an exception. His cheeks were red from the heat too, probably more so the fact that he’s a plant and one false move he could die, but who knows other than him. And he was perfectly silent as he let his tiny leaf arms point every which way to go-- which was just straight ahead and no detouring even when you really wanted to. A nice walk would distract you from your thoughts, but instead every moment you attempted to wander away you found yourself pulled back on track due to a vine you hadn’t realized having stretched itself around your legs through your clothing, leading you back to heading straight. You wanted to object… there were a few times you reminded him of Snowdin and how you two needed to share turns with your body but, this time his reasonings made perfectly good sense:

 

  1. Alphys’ lab was your best attempt at contacting someone on the surface to help you with an escape plan.
  2. Flowey was a plant and wouldn’t survive the extreme temperatures for long.



 

It was different in Snowdin because two people could use body heat to keep warm. However, in a hot climate way over 100 degrees... body heat was the  _ last  _ thing the two of you wanted. And the moment your clothes dry up, Flowey would be in far worse danger. So you compromised with him (ie:  _ “Okay, you won’t die while I’m around.” _ )

 

It didn’t take you that long to make it to a rather large laboratory that stood out from the rest of the scenery surrounding it. It was a huge metal block, it stuck out like a sore thumb as you two approached. With everything in the reds, browns, and warm colors of the spectrum, the cool and bright gray metal made it feel almost cartoonish.

“This is the lab.” Flowey said, though you gave him a  _ ‘duh’ _ look that he completely ignored “Besides the Core that runs all the power throughout all of the underground, Alphys has her own generator in the basement. So you should be able to get a signal down there.”

You just hoped that your smartphone still worked, however you recalled it cracking from your fall… and on top of that there being no signal in the ruins whatsoever. It was time to test your luck again, only thankfully you had Flowey with you and not against you.

At least you hoped so.

Once the two of you were right in front of what you suspected was the front door, it automatically opened for you, sliding up and vanishing into the doorway to allow the both of you inside. As soon as you stepped in and away from the door it had shut behind you, and almost immediately Flowey had pressed a button beside it, causing a locking sound to occur. You probably could have believed it to be a trap Flowey had lured you into, and now you were stuck in a lab with him, but a part of you didn’t mind… as your thoughts wandered and roamed and you attempted to force them down.

“Before you think I’m trying to lock you up, don’t flatter yourself.” Flowey reassured you as you walked further into the dirty and trash ridden lab “We can't have heat coming in and out, now can we? Maybe you’d like that but personally I prefer a nice room temperature. Alphys has air conditioning.”

 

And he was definitely right, with the entrance sealed you could instantly feel the cool air waving over you, and you let out a sigh of acceptance. As your body got more comfortable and adjusted to the new climate change, your soreness returned. Tired, sweaty, and with Flowey still clinging to you, you really wanted to relax and unwind. It wouldn’t hurt to spend the rest of your day calming down after all you’ve gone through, right? And you only napped in waterfall, it wasn’t really much of a sleep and it only got you a little unnerved and scatterbrained. You felt like a truck running on empty.

“The true lab is in the basement.” Flowey commented, however you immediately pushed your ideas forward, interrupting him and commenting quickly “Can we chill for a bit? I’m actually… I feel like I’m ready to collapse, I don’t wanna think about anything for now other than fixing myself up.”

He gave you a peculiar look, mostly of disgust as if you had said something terrible, but you persisted “Please? I’m… thankful you’re wanting to help me, Flowey. I appreciate it, I really do… and I probably wouldn’t of gotten this far without you.” You tried to push in some compliments to get on his good side, which worked since he looked away and his disgust had turned into thoughtfulness. You carried on “But I think if I keep going like this I’ll just die instead of getting out. A day’s worth of a break wouldn’t hurt, right?”

You glanced around the large lab, seeing that all of the objects seemed perfectly intact. A large wide screen television, tables cluttered in paper and trash, and even a whole second floor worth of exploring. The staircases were escalators, and while you felt a bit childish over your ideas of fun, you really wanted to ride them in circles. “Looks like there’s television, and if that works then we can maybe just do some Netflix and chill.”

 

It took you a moment, but you realized what had just slipped past your lips.

_ You can’t believe you just said that. _

 

“Netflix and chill?” Flowey repeated your horrible suggestion as a question “What’s a Netflix?”

 

“Ah… it’s a program used on the surface to stream TV shows from the internet, or movies, things like that. When people say Netflix and Chill it’s mostly just hanging out while watching something on TV.”

_ While doing other things, _ which made you think back to Alphys’ hentai tastes, and your face heating up even with the pumped on air conditioner. But that also reminded you how badly you were hoping to look through her abandoned belongings.

 

“Tch. Whatever.” Flowey brushed off your embarrassment and gave a shrug, sliding out from your shirt so that he could wrap himself around your shoulders, no longer needing your damp(well, now closer to being dry than anything) clothes “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. The real lab is just downstairs anyway, not like anything will happen unless we let it.” He looked around before gesturing with his head towards where you saw a fridge and microwave. You figured that’s where he wanted to go, so you walked over to it to let him unravel and slide onto the counter space. He knocked a bit of trash on the floor “I think I can make us something to eat, how about cleaning up all this shit and making this visit better for the both of us, then?”

“Why can’t I cook and you clean?” You tried to suggest, though the moment he gave you a half-lidded disinterested look, you figured the reason why fairly quickly.  _ Oh yeah, no actual way of doing that easily. _

 

_ He can’t exactly run around cleaning, and you can’t exactly… cook well. _

 

“Fine.” You muttered, looking to the huge garbage can that sat not too far from the tiny bit of kitchen space. You went to it and pulled it over to the center of the room. It felt strange cleaning up someone else’s place, but you also figured it was the least you could do for staying the night. You definitely planned on searching through all of Alphys’ things while and after cleaning, so you found yourself rushing to get your chore done.

The main floor seemed to be the worst of it since it had the most space, it felt almost like it took you an hour or two just to see the floors. Even after having picked up all the plastic wrappers, crumpled papers and discarded trash, you needed to definitely sweep off the dust that had caked itself on the once clean tiles beneath your feet. However with no dustpan or broom available, you figured using your clothing that was now destroyed wouldn’t hurt. 

Removing your jacket, you tossed it on the floor and stepped onto it, letting Flowey watch and lay witness to you wiggle and shimmy on top as you swept the best someone like you could do. And then by the time the main floor was clean, you started to smell a rather nice and chickeny smell waft in the air, which in turn made your stomach yell for nourishment. You could have eaten the last cookie and the remainder of your pie slice in your backpack, but you knew that if you got full by other means before Flowey could present whatever it was he had made, he’d probably hurt you.

 

More so mentally than physically.

 

“What are you making?” You dared to ask finally, feeling worn out from the first floor alone, though thankful you had finished it. The entire place looked spotless and clean, as if it were still occupied. Of course you still had the upstairs to deal with, but you tried not to think about that considering your stomach kept forcing you to pool saliva in your mouth.

“Alphys only had instant noodles.” Flowey almost sounded frustrated at this, finally presenting two bowls of noodles with some sort of green flaked seasoning on top. You realized that the smell must have been the chicken flavoring packets that he had added with the noodles, and though Flowey was probably upset at the lack of fresh ingredients (considering he was  _ of course _ such a fancy chef himself) you personally were just starving and couldn’t really complain. You yourself often made the quick meals at home, not knowing how to cook many dishes, and not having much time to cook when you were always working in and out of the office, they became easy, convenient, and delicious. 

You figured now was a better time than any to take a break from your cleaning to enjoy the meal presented to you, so you slowly approached and gave Flowey a quick kiss on the forehead “Thanks for dinner.” You said quickly, taking your plate and wandering yourself over to where the giant screened television was at. You had moved so fast that you didn’t get the chance to see Flowey’s reaction, and you hoped that he didn’t get the chance to see yours either.

There was a worn couch sitting in front of the television that, now paying more attention to it, looked more like one of those sci-fi super computers than an actual TV. You made your way to the worn couch and sat upon it. As self conscious as you were feeling about your appearance, your hunger ignored the ideas of sitting on a filthy couch with even more filthy clothing, and you sat there at the powered down television/computer screen while eating the noodles as fast as you could… while also trying not to burn yourself.

 

You realized you had left Flowey there in the kitchen to himself with his own bowl, though when you looked over he was simply staring down at his bowl almost as if in a trance.

You called to him “Hey Flowjo, do you wanna join me over here?”

Flowey looked up and over towards you, which gave you enough to make you set your bowl down on the newly cleaned floor and walk over to him. You gave him a soft smile, looking around and spotting a rather tiny flower vase perfect for him. You hurried towards it and are thankful to spot some soil inside, however it was quite dry and you knew Flowey wouldn’t exactly enjoy sitting in it. You carried it back towards the sink beside Flowey, turning on the faucet to let a little bit of water inside of the dirt. You didn’t want it to be too dry for him, but you didn’t want him to take in too much water either. Almost on instinct, Flowey was already sprouting his tendrils to take over the flower pot, sinking into the moistened dirt and wiggling to get snug and comfortable in it.

“Thanks.” He said almost half-heartedly, a vine stretching from the soil to wrap around his own bowl of noodles. You then carry his vase back to the couch to take a seat, sitting him beside you.

 

“This is pretty good.” You commented with a nod, getting comfortable before returning your bowl to your lap to begin eating again “You’re probably the best cook I ever came across.”

“It’s just instant noodles,” Flowey deflected the compliment and rolled his eyes “Even Papyrus couldn’t fuck this up.”

You tried not to mention that you’ve overboiled it before in your apartment, as well as burnt it. Instead, you slurped a noodle in response, and he wrinkled his invisible nose to you “Tch, manners much?”

You puffed your cheeks then, chewing while staring at him. Basically taunting his lack of playfulness, you tried to slurp another noodle again, though this time he used a tiny vine to wrap and tug at it, practically pulling it out your mouth. You whined at the stolen food, watching with sadness as he ate it instead. Even as you gave him a deep frown though, suddenly he perked up “Wow you’re right, I really have out done myself.” He started to eat his own bowl then, and you returned to yours. The atmosphere felt a lot better, and brighter, with Flowey eating his meal happily instead of staring at it. That and with all the trash and dirt removed from the area it felt more relaxing. Like a high-tech homestay, you even thought that this was a great research lab for whenever you came back underground. Air-conditioning, all the comforts of a home away from home.

 

That thought made you halt your eating, wondering to yourself as you stared down at your half empty bowl. If you could find a way to get out of the underground, you knew for sure you would visit not just for research purposes, but for Flowey especially.

There was something about him that you wanted to see… something that you felt he would only show you.

 

When you returned to focusing on eating, Flowey had already finished off his bowl, and he licked his lips as another sign of approval. “I enjoyed this.” He complimented himself.

 

You snorted “Oh yeah?” For a second, you were ready to mock that  _ ‘how can you enjoy it if you claim to not have feelings?’ _ but you let that thought fade away as he looked to you, as if reading your mind. He squinted his beady eyes your way “I know I have trouble feeling things… but I can at least get the jist of what something is connected to.”

You did your best to eat your noodles more quietly now that Flowey was starting to speak in a deeper tone, his words sounded like they were delving deep within himself. You really wanted to set your bowl down to pull out your journal, but you figured the moment you did that then he would lose his train of thought and stop speaking. As if on cue with your thinking process, he started up again “I remember… feeling so passionate for someone, someone who's… never coming back.” He snorted “Which is fine, they don’t deserve to come back, and I wouldn’t want to see them anyway.”

 

“Chara?” You asked, letting the name slip your lips. His dazed eyes suddenly returned to focus on your own, and you quickly looked down to your food to stuff your face with noodles. Flowey agreed, however, despite your worried expression of being wrong “Yeah, Chara.”

 

He chuckled, sighing through gritted teeth “The last person I ever felt something so deep for was Chara… my  _ sibling.  _ I used to idolize them, very much so. I looked up to them, we were a tag team duo who never went anywhere without one another, of course everyone wanted to hang out and be with the human child, whether they were my sibling or not… things hadn’t changed at all  much for me reputation wise… but with Chara, it felt okay. With them they brought me along even if I wasn’t invited, and they weren’t afraid to tell others that… well… if I couldn’t join then they wouldn’t either. They seemed so selfless then, carefree, never really considering what others thought about them… they just never seemed to care… these were the things I used to admire about Chara but, now… well, Frisk helped me see who they really were.”

He finally set his bowl down on the floor beside the worn couch, it clanked lightly against the hard surface, and at this you took a moment to drink some of the broth in the bowl (knowing fully well you made slurping noises). But as soon as he returned to looking at you, you stopped drinking and quieted down to let him proceed.

“I was an idiot. I was… so dumb, the entire time I called them my best friend, I felt that I truly… well… I thought I loved them and they loved me.” Flowey’s stare had started to get more intense then, he squinted at you almost angrily as if you were the one at fault for all of this “I was nothing more than another tool in some game of theirs,  _ used… _ just like the rest of my family. Frisk gave me a shitty reality check, and instead of leaving it… I took it. But, that passion, that love, I’ll never feel it again. Whether my love for Chara was true or false, I still haven’t felt that love ever since…”

His expression relaxed, he looked away from you so quick his petals swayed with his motions, and he sighed “Tch. Why am I telling you all this if you don’t even have your dumb journal out?”

 

You mentally cursed yourself, but Flowey continued as you drank up and finished the rest of your bowl “I’ll clean the dishes, you can clean the upstairs.”

 

Prepared to protest, you stood up quickly and gathered the dishes. But as soon as you had knelt down to grab Flowey’s off of the floor, he let a vine outstretch to wrap around your wrist. His tongue clicked in a teasing manner, a smirk now gracing his lips “I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

 

...

 

_ SWEETHEART?! _

 

Your entire face heated up instantly, turning you as red as the molten lava just outside of the lab, and you huffed out almost breathlessly “Don’t call me that!”

“Wow, you look like a fucking tomato.” Flowey snickered, teasing still as you yanked your wrist out his grip and hurried the dishes to the sink. If he wanted to wash the dishes so bad then fine! You practically slammed them inside and ran the faucet to let the sink fill up, making it all the more easier for him to do what he apparently did best-- cook and clean dumb dishes!

You returned to him just to transport Flowey from the couch to the sink as you almost growled out “Fine! Just do the dishes! I’ll do everything else I guess!”

“...okay.” He simply agreed, a smile still on his face as you felt his eyes glued to your back all the while you hurried to take the escalators up to the second floor. Even you knew that your sudden outburst was uncalled for. But seriously who was  _ HE _ to call  _ YOU _ sweetheart? Of all nicknames in the entire galaxy and, according to Flowey, of all universes with probably billions of different nicknames in each he chooses sweetheart.

For all you knew it was just a name used once, this one time, to get you to snap and it sure as hell worked.

You found yourself not riding and playing around the escalator like you wanted earlier, in the blink of an eye you realized you were sitting there slowly riding it upward on that one step you planted your boots onto. And you held your stomach in an attempt to calm the swarming butterflies. They were your center, your soul pounded like a bass drum in your chest, your face was lit up like a red traffic light, but you knew it was because of the butterflies. You tried to push the feeling off to the side as you had done before, but this time it was a whole lot more difficult. By the time you reached the top floor and stepped off of the escalator, you peeked over the side to look down at Flowey, who was now focused on cleaning the two dishes.

 

Apparently the perfectionist, he was scrubbing one bowl vigorously, before staring at it for almost a full minute, just before scrubbing it down again.

“ _ Ugh… _ ” 

Just looking at him made your stomach backflip, and the thoughts of something else being between the two of you started to roll into your head again, just as they had done before. What feelings were these? They didn’t exactly make sense. Wasn’t this technically  _ Stockholm syndrome? _

 

Right, Flowey confessed to breaking your rope just to watch you fall and hurt yourself. Him being the only one around and the only one to connect to, of course you two easily turned your rocky relationship into a strange and peculiar friendship… which lead to plenty of flirting and now this; Flowey stealing your first kiss and forever mocking you for it.

And after all the torture he’s put you through up to this point, physically and emotionally, now you feel so easily in  _ something  _ with him that it keeps distracting you.

It was definitely something on the  _ Stockholm _ scale.

 

You patted your full stomach that kept twirling like a ballerina, trying to walk away from the edge to ignore Flowey who just kept up his repetitive scrubbing patterns. It was time to focus on the second floor, which was more so dusty than it was trashy.

Plenty of shelves that were probably once filled up with books and research, now only had a scarce few amount of dusted over and cobwebbed items. There was another huge table and desk that was also empty other than a few spare crumpled pieces of paper, and there were surprisingly plenty of powerful looking tools specifically made to work on perhaps heavy machinery. There was a strange machine, but it was coated in a rather thick and ancient pink crust. You were mostly excited about the sight of the bed at the opposite side of you, but you figured you’d work your way towards it as a reward for cleaning. 

You dusted and scrubbed the floors (after having to go back downstairs to grab your jacket before hurrying back up), made sure the table was clean and all trash was tossed into the tinier trashcan beside the furniture, and then you made your way to the shelves.

As you had expected, there were a few abandoned manga, DVD’s, and VHS’s. Of course some of these cases were empty, which you threw out, but the others were, well, a rather lewd variety… and available for viewing.

You definitely had to remind yourself to check these out later when you were done cleaning, which of course made you all the more in a rush to clean up the area. When you made it to the bed, the blanket and pillows were coated in a thick dust that you had to lift and flick away. It only sent the dust flying all around, and inhaling it caused you to hack up a lung, cough like a smoker, and suddenly you were on a sneezing frenzy. You shoved the sheets back onto the bed, realizing you had made a mistake, and hurried away from the clouds of dust that hovered in the air surrounding you.

Making it to the edge, you peeked down at the second floor to see Flowey was already relaxing on the couch. Apparently now that he was in that flower pot with dirt, he could maneuver around and do things just fine without any assistance. You kept sneezing even as you watched him, and it caught his attention.

 

He looked up towards you as you hung over the edge of the second floor, making a disgusted face at your sneezing “What the hell is the matter with you? Are you sick?”

You only sneezed in response, only this time it caused you to lose your footing.

 

You realized that you were standing on a belt strip Alphys probably had installed so she wouldn’t need to walk around so much, but the top floors moving belt wasn’t exactly working, as if it were jammed or broken in some way. You tried to grab ahold of it since there was nothing else you could exactly grab, but the already weakened rubber simply stretched and tore, and you fell down anyway.

With a final sneeze, you landed with a heavy thud and a small yelp. Sniffling as your eyes were squeezed shut.

“Can you try not to toss germs everywhere?” You only heard Flowey insult you, though suddenly it sounded like he was right by your ear “You just cleaned and it’d be a big shame for you to have ta clean up again.”

You opened your eyes, realizing that you weren’t touching the floor. Your were being held almost in a bride-like fashion as two vines cradled you, one tucked under your knees and the other supporting your back. You had hugged your arms to your chest as you sniffled, looking over to realize that the flower pot was still sitting on the couch, but Flowey had stretched himself all the way out towards the kitchen area just to catch you before you fell.

Your face heated up as you tried to give him thanks, but you wound up sneezing again, thankfully covering your mouth in time.

“Charming.” Flowey muttered, finally dropping you in typical Flowey fashion and slowly shrinking himself back towards his flower pot. However, now he kept two vines on either side of him, and though they were almost arm like with how they lifted up the pot, they walked swiftly towards you like legs “Okay, I’ll help you clean so you don’t die on my watch.”

“I never…” You sniffed, wiping your nose with your shirt “realized Alphys was so dirty.”

“Anything abandoned for years on end is bound to get a bit of dust.” Flowey said while you picked up his flowerpot and carefully made your way to the escalator again “Alphys was messy before, but the dust isn’t her fault.”

For some reason the thought of dust started to make you feel uneasy, though you tried not to connect it to the fact that when monsters perished they would turn into dust. A monsters ashes were similar to a human's skin, spreading around and getting onto everything-- not that you had seen monster dust before, thankfully.  _ Lucky you. _

You were silent, trying to fix the tickle in your nose and your watering eyes as the stairs carried you both upward, and he muttered “Most of the floors done, what the hell was your problem?”

“I wanted to clean the bed.” You whined, sniffing as you simply set Flowey down at the clean table, but kept yourself away from the bed area. You watched as he made his way to the edge of the table closest to where the bed and crumpled sheets were, easily his invisible nose wrinkled in bemusement “Oh, well shit. Okay. You just clean the rest of this trash dump, I’ll take care of this.”

Thankful for the assistance(finally, since he was so against helping before), you returned to the bookshelves to dust and organize whatever books, manga, and films remained in Alphys’ collection, all the while watching Flowey do the same as you had done before with the bed, only from a safer distance. He was lifting each sheet into the air and with a vine stretched out as far away from him as possible and moving like a flick of the wrist, tossing the dust off of it. This would have been easier if there was a washer and dryer available, but you didn’t know whether monsters had those liberties back then. You didn’t want to think about it, but you couldn’t help but wonder how life had been for everyone compared to your own on the surface. Obviously they made do without, considering all their high end technology and magic, but you just wished that monsters and humans never separated in the first place.

 

But then you wouldn’t of met  _ him _ .

 

Your soul pounded against your chest, and you suddenly realized you were holding all of the things found on the shelves in your arms. You looked down to them in confusion, but it was too late. Flowey had made up the bed again after cleaning it, and now his vine was back at you grabbing whatever you had gathered.

“Are these the Netflix things you were talking about?” He asked almost dumbly, ditching you and heading to the escalators on his own. He walked using his vines, and you rushed after him in a flustered fit, upset that he had snatched them and made a run for it “N-No I already told you what Netflix was, this is just some of Alphys’ things she left behind-- maybe we can watch them.”

Suggesting that without knowing what any of them were was such a bad idea. You didn’t even go as far as reading the titles just yet, only seeing their pictures and knowing some of those were definitely not… appropriate to watch between just two ‘friends’.

 

_ Friends… right. _

 

“Well there’s power to the TV so we can watch one of these nerd flicks.” Even with Flowey insulting your interests(though mostly they were Alphys’ interests  _ of course _ ) he was reading the descriptions on the back of the movie cases with an arched brow but curious eye. You finally caught up to him just as he bounced his vase onto one of the couch cushions, and with a heavy sigh you sat beside him.

He let the manga drop the the floor, holding up three films before you. But as you reached to grab one, he held it back and away, wiggling it “No, just point and choose one. Which do you want to watch?”

“This is the  **worst.** ” You wanted to think that, but you found yourself saying it out loud as you shyly glanced elsewhere.

Flowey snickered “Come on~ you were the one ready for a movie. So just pick one. There’s…”

He started reading the titles which was the worst of all.

“Space Monster Gummi, Naughty Teacher, or….” He seemed to have trouble pronouncing the last one, not that it mattered, your head was getting foggy “Yuuri’s Yuri Experience… Huh. What does... MxM, MxF or FxF stand for? Well. We’ll find out, I suppose.”

You wanted to die, not even sure how to explain this sort of thing to him. Before the first kiss it probably would have been easy, there was nothing more thrilling and hilarious than teasing Flowey who would turn into this blushing bubbly mess of denial before you. But suddenly the tables had turned, he was the bold and forward flower and you were the squirming and embarrassed one.

Probably the exact plot of that MxM  _ ‘Naughty Teacher’ _ flick.

 

You tried not to tell him which one you wanted to watch, however apparently you had been staring longingly at one in particular, because suddenly the other two were tossed into the manga pile and he hummed in content “Space Monster it is then~” Before opening the DVD and stretching the disk out towards the giant computer-ish television.

Your breathing hitched, but you did your best to relax, finding an exit to slowly get to the other side of the couch away from Flowey just so you could lean on the armrest.

Space Monster Gummi was exactly as the title claimed it was going to be, about a gummy monster in space. Of course, the reason you stared at the DVD cover for so long as because it had a pink tentacle monster on it with a very scantily dressed human floating in the space beside it. At this point it didn’t matter the gender of the main characters, you were avoiding the whole story like the plague and shifting your gaze between the couch, the floor, or Flowey.

Flowey’s reactions were so naive that it was adorable. You had to admit that some parts of the start of the film were funny, Flowey not getting the jokes was even funnier, but when he would ask what one thing meant you found yourself unable to clarify, or at least lacking the courage to explain to him what ‘bukkake’ truly was.

 

And then, the moment you had been waiting for and dreading the most. The main character finally was sent up into space on a secret mission that they were told only  _ they _ could accomplish; and they had to do it alone and for the safety of the planet. Space monsters were invading the earth and replacing all the humans, and it was up to them to destroy the race.

“I haven’t watched many of Alphys’ movies,” Flowey admitted during a somewhat intense fight scene, the spaceship was shooting lazers at meteors to try and avoid crashing into them “The covers all looked terrible, she always had bad taste in things… but I read all these books she had left.”

 

You glanced down at the pile of manga and films Flowey had dropped, skimming what you could without having to get off the couch (or close to Flowey) to pick through and read. The titles said it all, the covers all included people either holding each other in a romantic kind of way, or in such an intimate and sexual manner that it couldn’t be mistaken for anything else; Porn. Literally  _ everything _ Alphys had abandoned when leaving to the surface was  _ porn _ .

 

All of the things you had found on that shelf, that Flowey took with you, was  _ porn _ .

 

And now you were watching  _ porn _ with him.

 

And just as that thought crossed your mind, you realized Flowey had admitted to reading all the manga. 

 

Just as he had said he did, and you noticed all Alphys had left were hentai and yuri titles of manga(I won’t ask how you recognize them as such), you realized Flowey knew fully well what the two of you were watching. 

 

He’d seen and read sex scenes plenty of times before, and your whole body was overheating like a microwave.

 

Your mind was flipping pancakes, your soul pumping on overdrive, and suddenly you were staring at Flowey who was making a cringing face like seeing something that disturbed him.

Turning your head, you knew what it was. Right on the screen, the main character had finally landed on the planet during the time you had been distracted by your own thoughts, but the bottom half of the characters spacesuit had been removed, and the pink octopus-like monster was sliding one gooey tentacle inside of them, pumping swiftly. Lewd and squishy noises escaped the speakers of the super-computer you stared at in horror, as moans escaped the human’s mouth through their round space helmet. Their body was bound, arms forced behind their back by another set of pink slimy tentacles, as the moans of pleasure continued and they were fucked without mercy, but apparently enough to make them squirm and blush in total pleasure.

“Alphys is such a  _ freak. _ ” Flowey was laughing at the scene, he was seriously laughing as you were trying to melt and hide into the dirty couch, hoping your sudden sexual-frustration would hide with you somewhere.

 

This was it, you were a total weirdo. 

 

Officially and signed on the dotted line, stamped for approval, and shipped out to the underground. Not only had fate granted you the freedom to roam the underground to continue your research and passions… 

 

But fate also decided to let you roam the underground to continue your research and passions with a  _ tentacle plant named Flowey the flower. _

 

Just as you were trying to compose yourself, you tuned back into reality as Flowey was still laughing, all while another tentacle monster wiggled its way towards the main character. The human was trying to act like the sex was an actual fight, announcing  _ “Give me all you’ve got! This is for all the humans of Earth!” _ Before round two began and suddenly they were being double penetrated from down below. Flowey was trying to catch his breath in between fits of laughter, his laugh was like that of the mad scientist Frankenstein who had just created a monster “This is just  _ disgusting! _ ”

He looked to you with the widest grin, as you looked to him with the shyest and he persisted in his trash talking “No wonder she ditched all this stuff, she didn’t want her new girlfriend to find out what sorta freaky shit she’s into--”

And suddenly his grin froze, and he blinked. “Why is your face so red? Are you still getting sick from the dust earlier?”

There was no way to calm down with so much attention on you, you squeezed yourself as far away from him and to your corner of the couch as you could. But he didn’t seem to understand the point of space or get the hint that you didn’t want to answer, because suddenly his vines were outstretched and wrapping themselves around you, forcing you to face him as you struggled as best as your weakened and hyper sensitive muscles could. You were feeling that tingling sensation all over, the same thing you felt from the kiss, and the same you felt whenever you thought about those times Flowey had pushed a tentacle into your mouth before you two got more acquainted. 

You were trying to deny it as he inspected you, but suddenly his smile was gone as he  muttered something thoughtfully “You’ve been strange since…” His words trailed off, his vines almost squeezing you tighter as he came to some weird realization “ _ Pheromones. _ ”

 

You managed to pull away a bit from his grip, not fully, but enough so that you could return your attention to the film. The scene had finally finished, leaving the human in a mess of cotton candy-pink semen and saliva covering their body. You were trying to suppress the thoughts of being turned on by all this when Flowey spoke up again to interrupt your brain’s processing “You smell like… what the hell…” Flowey suddenly snickered, that generic and suspicious snicker that most evil villains gave before explaining their evil intentions “Are you in  _ heat?! _ Is this actually getting you  _ hot and bothered?! _ ”

You were completely embarrassed now, blushing furiously, Flowey’s tiny grin (though failing to notice the sudden blush on his own cheeks) continuing to mock you even as you tried to hide yourself in the corner, managing to breathe out too huskily for your own good “No! No I’m not in heat you…! Humans-- humans don’t get in heat and I’m sure as hell certain we don’t get pheromones!” 

Of course there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that your words were true at least, let alone deny it but for the sake of not being kinkshamed by Flowey you tried to stand your ground.

“I’ve been through hell incase you haven’t noticed!” You blurted then, the smug look on Flowey’s face a signal that you had to keep defending yourself because he sure as hell wasn’t believing a single word you said “My clothes are trashed and you’re probably smelling blood, sweat, and tears! Glad you find that arousing,  _ sicko!” _ You folded your arms across your chest in a huff, turning your head away from him only to be staring back at the large screen, the main character now defending themselves against another few tentacle monsters heading for them.

“I can’t believe it.” Flowey snickered “You and Alphys are just alike, anime obsessed horndogs too embarrassed to admit your fucked up fantasies… this explains  _ a lot  _ , this is why you seemed so tense every time I mentioned Alphys’ name before… because she had things that interested you and you just couldn’t admit that I was turning you on…”

You tried not to scream “E-Excuse yourself?!”

“No wonder you weren’t afraid of me then!” Flowey snorted a loud laugh, it was almost as if it wasn’t even his voice anymore, but someone else’s. It was hard to believe he could laugh and smile so much in one day “You weren’t scared of me, you were fantasizing about me doing more--”

You wanted to say something, letting out a noise to tell him you were about to stop him in his tracks, but he quickly added “You say you have trouble making friends but, I’m pretty sure you and Alphys have watched a thing or two together on the surface! Wow, didn’t know you were so  _ kinky _ ~” He stuck out his tongue, and you whined out in protest “Flowey stop! I-It isn’t like that at all!”

“Then tell me…” Flowey’s main vine had stretched to reach you across the couch, his face hovered before you even as you tried to back away. Though you could only pull your head back from his so far, before falling off the couch of course. But you didn’t, you did your best not to run away. It wasn’t like you could go anywhere, since for the sake of keeping the AC in the lab the doors were sealed, and there were only so many hiding places. Flowey’s voice was still such a tease, low and seductive, his words rolled of his tongue as his eyes stared into your own “Then tell me,  _ human _ … what is it like? Hm?” 

 

You two were face to face, and you had trouble returning the gaze as your eyelids grew heavy. Half-lidded and losing focus, your mind was filling with a lustful fog of curiosity and need. And you found yourself only whimpering when suddenly there was something rubbing between your legs. You didn’t dare look down to break the staring match between you two, but you saw Flowey’s vine sliding low, and bobbing up and down, signifying that it was definitely Flowey who was suddenly brushing and teasing between your legs that, now you realized, were what was giving off the smell.

In your bit of excitement and arousal, you found the space between your legs rather damp, and a pleasant and all too familiar scent wafting upward. Basically, the smell of sex.

“What’s this then,  _ hm~?” _ He continued to question you persistently, your body trembling as the lewd and erotic noises continued to sound from the TV, all the while Flowey rubbed and stroked whatever was between your legs. And the worst part of it was you letting him, after struggling to escape and hide your embarrassment and arousal, you let him do these things to you. You let him feel you, his vine only moving more, and soon enough you caved in and realized your hips had been twitching and moving in time with his own movements.

Repeating his words lowly, Flowey noted your motions with a smile  _ “What’s this?” _ His tendril slid even further between your legs, mostly making it look as if you were straddling a snake, brushing over your nether-region as it leaked from the arousal of it all. It was obvious what was happening, you weren’t sure why you were suddenly feeling this way (other than the combined mix of anime tentacle porn, lewd background noises, and your perverted mind reeling with ideas that your body reacted to in hopes of it happening in real life). He knew what was happening, but he decided to ask anyway as if to play coy “Haha~  _ freak. _ Why are you so  _ wet~?” _

 

“I-It’s nothing!” You blurted, your cheeks were hot, your head was cloudy, and you squirmed from the teasing that continued from his vine. You had gotten so preoccupied with the vine rubbing between your legs, you hadn’t noticed that he had your wrists slowly being wrapped tightly together and held up over your head. With a tiny whimper, probably the tiniest you’ve ever mustered, you shifted yourself onto your back, letting the armrest support your back and pressing your knees tightly together in hopes of stopping him from going any further. Your voice was so weak, but you didn’t dare protest. So many things could go wrong in this situation… Flowey killing you, Flowey not going through with this sexual act… and perhaps worst of all, Flowey teasing you to the edge of bliss only to pull back and not finish what had been started. All the choices would have been bad, but one of them was going to happen no matter what; so you didn’t mutter any form of rejection. Suddenly your legs parted forcefully with his rope-like tendrils.

Flowey snorted a little laugh, apparently what he asked before was a rhetorical question “Well, either you’re so excited just by me touching you like this… or you fucking  _ pissed _ yourself.” He sneered “Which do you think happened then? Now be honest~”

“F-Flowey…!” You breathed his name as the tendril continued to stroke, flick, wriggle between your legs, easily slipping into your undergarments due to your loosened and ruined pants, to delve and tease further.

 

Your mind was still trying to process all this. You were about to have sex with a soulless flower.

 

Flowey’s own face was turning pink, whether he was embarrassed from his own actions or he was starting to get turned on himself you had no clue, but even his voice had turned very… husky, low, and sensual “I’ve never… done this sort of thing before.” He had admitted gently, licking his lips as his eyes suddenly looked into your own. This only caused you to look away as he spoke “You feel really good…” He eyed you almost hungrily “Really  _ really  _ good…”

You wanted to add, more than anything, that it wasn’t like you did this type of thing often either. And also that he was feeling pretty good too-- but you were suddenly lacking in courage. So weak that you could only speak in moans and sighs.

You weren’t sure why you were feeling this way, maybe it was just the heat and pressure of the underground making you think these types of thoughts, at least you were trying to blame something (anything) other than yourself. You couldn’t even tell if this was a fantasy or if it were all really happening, were you lucid dreaming? The rolling of the tendril gliding between your legs made your body squirm and tremble from the pleasure, excitement and embarrassment all rolled into one at the noises that escaped your throat and the human in the film not far from you two. You were only relieved that Flowey let out the same noises as he felt between your legs, rubbing and teasing you in a way that bought himself a strange satisfaction.

“You’re so warm…” Flowey added, now another tendril had slowly appeared, growing before you and leaning forward to get closer to your face, brushing over your lips. It was easy what the plant was implying as it poked and prodded at your bottom lip, and for some reason you found yourself complying too by opening your mouth and letting your tongue flick against the tip of the vine. Mostly out of curiousity of its taste, of what it would be like feeling your tongue along the peculiar vine. Though it wasn’t anything you haven’t done before, at least considering Flowey had used it on you back in the ruins to stop you from speaking… so having gagged on the plant matter before, this was no surprise. Flowey trembled and audibly shivered with enjoyment from your lips, sighing heavily before he simply forced the vine into your mouth fully without warning, filling your mouth with its thickness and having it squirm down your throat. He was having trouble focusing on you now, his eyes were practically rolling back and around instead of exactly on you as you tugged(and gagged) at your restraints, wanting a freedom he was no longer going to give.

Well, not like you’d go anywhere, anyway.

“Your insides are so hot... it’s… overwhelming…” He forced you to deepthroat the vine more, practically causing your body to convulse as he roughly thrusted the vine in and out, forward and back, pounding the back of your throat and making you gag over and over. “I remember… it felt weird… but… I didn’t know what I was feeling.” He mentioned this raspily as if he were losing his voice, referring probably to the same memory you thought back to seconds before on when he had done this to silence you in the ruins. “Now I know… it must have been…  _ pleasure that I was feeling.”  _ Your body was a trembling and sweaty mess now just from the lewd oral alone, the restraints on your wrists only tightened, and the vines parted your legs more and began to press you down into the sofa. The armrest was less comfortable now however, pressing into your back like a rock as Flowey finally gave into his own pleasure, and you to yours. Fucking your mouth and creating noises similar to the ones emitting from the hentai (that still ran in the background mind you), and filling the room with your own ‘show’.

“Can I feel all of you?” He asked softly, chuckling and sighing as he gulped whatever saliva was filling his mouth “All of your insides~ all of your pumping organs… I want to feel  _ all of you…”  _ It was as if he had become possessed by some demon of lust, his once beady black eyes were suddenly widened, hollow, hungry and staring at you almost in a trance. It wasn’t like you could answer him with your mouth occupied, and your body squirming and struggling against not just the restraints, but the pleasure that built up as well, so you were forced to just accept whatever answer he wanted from you; which was an obvious yes.

Excited for the unknown but scared at the same time, he began to expose all of you before him. Your legs were freed, but only so he could peel and tug away your pants, and then soon enough your underwear was pulled down with it. Pulling the underwear away from your legs almost desperately, you were forced to reveal everything to him. Seeing how ‘excited’ you were first hand, the ends of his vines seemed to all sprout medium sized flowers, ones you recognized as… what were they, pagoda primrose? Red ginger? The vine in your mouth pulled out with a ‘pop’ noise, as it too sprouted the same blooming thick flower. You weren’t a botanist-- but either way, they looked all too similar to--

 

You were suddenly snapped out of your thoughts, your legs had been grabbed again, forced to spread apart after you had hoped he forgot about your exposure. You gasped, practically panting as your mind was torn between chanting  _ ‘yes yes yes!’  _ and  _ ‘oh dear god no!’  _ And there wasn’t much else escaping you other than whimpers and inaudible pleas. Suddenly, in a deep voice, almost as if it weren’t even his own, he muttered “If you really want this so bad, then  _ take it.” _

 

And without warning Flowey’s vine shoved itself deep into your lower entrance, the head of the red pulsating flower bud, and all too much of the base and vine. You cried out from the back of your throat, your mouth occupied once more as the vine before returned to shoving itself between your lips, making you unable to let out the crude and somewhat gratifying noises you wanted to its full extent. It wasn’t that you were a virgin, you had sex before, but obviously never had it been with anyone, or in any form, like this. The vine made crude gushing noises as it squirmed inside of you, rubbing and gliding along your inner walls as you wriggled your hips to adjust as best as you could to the plants length and girth. Flowey’s face expressed complete ecstasy, just as much as yours was probably a mixture of the same, and with a pinch of horror from the pain that shot through you firstly. You wished he took more time to prepare you first, but it was Flowey after all, and at the moment his mind wasn’t exactly thinking clearly... Just as bad as yours wasn’t.

As the vine started to fuck you rapidly, it wasn’t the only one. Suddenly another wiggled its way into your already occupied hole, double penetrating you from below as you bounced with each thrust. Your back pounded into the armrest of the couch, your eyes shutting tightly as tears fell and your body was beginning to ache already. Your arms were sore as they remained over your head, your legs spread in a way that made you somewhat thankful you were fit and active(or else they’d be destroyed considering Flowey had them spread wide open as if you were doing the splits). As the two tendrils pounded into you, creating a loud slapping noise as the anime character in the film screamed out in what you assumed was their climax, you found your body slowly converting the rough sexual pain into overstimulated pleasure, and even with gagging on Flowey’s flowered vine, you were moaning against it for release. Suddenly, there were no more cares in the world. The butterflies in your stomach, your shyness, self conscious mind had all been replaced with flowers. A pounding adrenaline rush that made you open your eyes, and the higher the pleasure started to build, the more your vision blurred into a haze of golden flower pollen.

“You should’ve asked for this sooner…!” Flowey breathed out heavily, your eyes tried to focus on his, but they were having trouble concentrating. The tears made your sight blurry, and the pleasure made you want to just let your eyes roll back and enjoy. He continued his teasing, even if you weren’t paying him any mind, his stare fixated on yours and his smile spread wide over his lips “The moment you fell I could’ve fucked you like this…”

Your body was hot and on overdrive, beads of sweat fell over your skin, the few flowers that remained brushing over your body in a teasing manner were leaking fluids from the tips of their flower buds, leaving a sticky mess and dipping you in a scent that was remarkably close to honey. The sweet smells covered the sweat, and you were practically honey-glazed by the time you felt the two tendrils squirming so deep into you, that their bases were brushing and slamming over your sweet spot. You thought the crude act had lasted for hours, but it had only been half of that time(maybe even less) before you let out a silenced cry and climaxed. Your body twitched violently from such a release, your back arched and even with Flowey’s restraints you had pulled yourself from the couch and rolled your hips to ride it out. Your juices practically coating your legs and staining Flowey’s vines in the clear to white substance. He let out a noise similar to satisfaction, but he only responded in grunts and huffs as he kept sliding into your now slippery wetness, your climax officially used as lubricant to keep him going. The heavy smell of sex had never smelled so satisfying to you. The sex you had before was sweat, shame, and the disgusting musk of a one night stand. Right now you were surrounded in, well,  _ milk and honey. _

Even after tightening up from the release, your body horribly sensitive and needing time to recover, Flowey kept pumping in and out of you, your mouth filling up with the similar sweet smells that now coated your body, and you drank down the loads of nectar from the vines supposed release. Your gag reflex had vanished from how long he had been fucking your mouth, and the mixture of pleasure, vibrant smells and intense flavors made you feel practically drunk and dazed, on auto-pilot to make him feel just as good as he was making you. Your mind was screaming, your body twitching like a maniac in an asylum, and Flowey’s crazed grin and half lidded stare probably made the two of you look like mental patients for anyone who would dare to walked in on you.

 

“Hn~ you’re getting  _ tighter~ _ ” Flowey teased, though he was completely out of breath as he kept up his antics and movements. You could tell his pleasure was building up as your wrist and leg restraints tightened, making your hands blue from the lack of oxygen and letting your legs match. 

 

“So tight just for me…!” He breathed and cackled. Your eyes half lidded as you gazed over him, you continued drinking the fluids that filled your mouth almost like an infinite nectar fountain, and suddenly you found yourself close to yet another climax. Your eyes had widened more as you mumbled pleadingly, whimpering to Flowey from the sudden rush of pleasure overwhelming you, bringing you up to another mountain of ecstasy. Your muscles only tensed more as he started gasping, his already swift thrusts only growing faster from you tightening up for him. The speed of his motions seemed almost unrealistic, like a crazed and out of control machine as he slammed and pounded into you at mach speed. The rush of the two vines fucking and pounding all too quickly on your sweet spot made you tense up and go crazy. You felt the restraints holding you down pulse, the vines wrapped around your limbs throbbed, and so did the ones inside of your nether regions.

“S-So… fucking…!”

His vines squirmed inside of you, the feeling was so intense that you were at the edge and your mind was starting to slip away. You were literally watching the dark start to creep in around your vision, your mind was failing you and you were at the brink of unconsciousness. Flowey stuck out his tongue, drool practically slipping down his mouth as his eyes stared into yours, almost close to the last face you’d see before being gone.

_ "You’re mine.” _ He murmured, a lustful and rather crazy grin appeared on his face as he released everything inside of you. His words brought a rush of excitement to your brain. Whether it was the idea of being dominated by him, or simply the fact that this was your second intense climax, either way your own release was coming in waves as the honey-fluid filled your insides, and finally filled your mouth once more to grant you another taste. The smells were so sweet and the taste just as delicious, you figured after all this you would go into a diabetic shock. Your vision was clouded in a mixture of tears and yellow pollen, was his cum like a hallucinogen? Or were you truly fucked so hard your mind was playing tricks on you? But either way, you were thankful that the dark that tried to creep on you started to subside.

His tentacle plants squirmed more slowly, before finally pulling out of your holes in spurts. The juices from each flower bud sprayed a bit after pulling away, and even some slipped from your hole. Your lips dripped a saliva that left a string connected to his tendril as he pulled out your mouth, and he dared to brush between your legs again to make you twitch before fully letting his vines weakly lower into the couch and floor, limp and draping over anything that they really could, as if he were suddenly too weak to at least retract them. He was gasping for breath, just as hard and heavy as you were.

 

And of course in good Flowey taste, he released your binding vines so suddenly, causing you to completely fall fully onto the couch, and then topple over onto the floor. Your entire body was aching, the fluids he spilled inside of you pouring out as you coughed and drank whatever was left in your mouth. You panted heavily, shifting a bit to get more comfortable, before simply deciding to lie there on the ground. Your undergarments and pants were officially discarded, your entire body exposed and in a mess, but you didn’t feel like covering yourself either. You simply shivered as the heat and warmth subsided, leaving you in a cold and trembling mess of his bodily fluids, and yours. Your shirt did absolutely nothing in warming you, it was basically like it wasn’t even there.

It wasn’t expected that Flowey would suddenly appear beside you. You half-heartedly anticipated his disappearance after having had his fill with you(and of course having filled you), because it was so common of him to feel flustered after being caught in any other emotion other than hatred and disgust. The passion and excitement he had revealed to you was rather exposing, respectfully you both showed yourselves to one another in such a lewd and rather embarrassing manner you thought it would only make sense for the two of you to hide from one another in shame. So when he suddenly showed his face to you instead of disappearing, your heart somewhat fluttered. You lied on your back against the cool metallic floor tile, now nothing but static emitted from the television to signal that the movie had long since finished, probably before the two of you finished as well, leaving the silent room to be filled with white noise as you were catching your breath and watching Flowey’s movements. As you did so, he wrapped his vines weakly around your body, almost as a sort of careful hug. He curled them over your nakedness, and the plants were surprisingly warm.

You gave a small smile, your face as flushed as his as he looked at you without even saying a word. There was something about being held like this by him that made you rather happy, it was leaving a fluttering in your chest and stomach. You found yourself tiredly staring at him, silent as he returned the same sort of gaze. A lacking of a soul never made people lose all of their emotions and feelings, this was total proof. Whether he was having trouble even telling what he was feeling, it meant he could still feel it. With the strength he had left, he lifted your body back onto the sofa, an attempt to get you comfortable. Your head laid back against the armrest, though your lower half exposed before him, he had quickly wrapped more vines around you as an attempt to cover you up.

 

“Thanks.” You managed finally, slowly closing your eyes and almost immediately falling into a warm and comfortable slumber. 

 

As your mind began to drift away, you faintly heard  _ “Yeah… you’re welcome…” _ before finally falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > That moment the reader realizes they've turned Flowey into a sex demon. ok.  
> > Official break starts now--
> 
> > I did my best to make the main character as gender fluid/neutral as possible (hence why I never mentioned what ‘hole’ Flowey was banging)  
> > But I feel like it ended up looking moreso like one gender than the other, which I apologize for I dunno how to make it more neutral than that.  
> > But I hope you guys enjoyed, time for me to focus on art and writing other projects for awhile.  
> > I will never ask for kudos again lolol
> 
> > well, maybe not until another long while.


	13. Your Soul Started To Swell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All your senses were clouded and drowned out with the taste and smell of honey, that drunken feeling came over you like it had done yesterday as gold pollen began to float and dance around the two of you and in your only line of sight.
> 
> You nodded though, you agreed with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > **LEMONY FRESHNESS OK YOUVE BEEN WARNED**
> 
> > See it wasn't such a long break, to be honest I have the chapter after this being edited out and then the next after that in the making.  
> > My break was mostly to focus on the dating sim project and life in general, but also because I got inspired to work on another chaptered UT fic.  
> > Maybe you'll see it soon, who knows.
> 
> > I hope you enjoy this.

###  **Chapter Thirteen:** ** _Your Soul Started To Swell_**

You woke up with a start, you sat up rather quickly from your sleeping position and rubbed your eyes to remove the haze that clouded your vision. Your body was aching, but it wasn’t terrible enough that you couldn’t move. With a light sigh of relief, and a small yawn escaping your lips, you finally took a moment to look at where you were and focus on reality. This was the first time since you fell underground that you managed to actually sleep and not be attacked by dreams(or nightmares, in your case), so you felt fairly well-rested. Though when you realized you weren’t on the couch, you arched a brow as you looked down over yourself.

Well, Flowey had moved you into bed it seemed; considering last you recalled you fell asleep on the couch wrapped up in his surprisingly warm vines. Even though you remembered being naked from the waist down, you thought your shirt had been left on… but now you were totally bare underneath the blankets; shirtless, pantless, and underwear...less. The reality of the situation hadn’t hit you all just yet, so you shrugged it off and carefully lifted the lightly dusty blankets off of your body to rest your legs over the edge of the bed. Your head was groggy, your body heavy, but there still wasn’t any sort of physical pain. To be honest, you were feeling quite light, almost like you could float away at the faintest of breezes. From this thought alone you smiled a tiny bit, before finally standing to your feet.

 

Well, you  _ tried _ at least. 

 

Your legs felt like noodles on impact, and you fell onto the floor with a shaky stumble. Muttering something incoherent under your breath when your knees had slammed into the tile, you grasped the edge of the bed for support and carefully lifted yourself back up to stand and compose yourself. You could barely feel your legs, they shook and trembled as you put the rest of your weight on them, and your tailbone, let alone your pelvis, were rather sore.

 

And that was when the reality of the situation  _ finally _ hit you. 

 

Dear god, you and Flowey had  _ sex. _

 

_ You fucked a flower. _

 

Your knees buckled, but not before you made a small and uncomfortable noise as fluids leaked from your nether region. Only a small amount had slid down your inner thigh, but it was still enough to release that strong  _ golden honey _ scent that instantly brought flashbacks through your brain of the events prior to your awakening. Had you been at Alphys’ for a whole day now? Or did you wake up only later on in the night?

Time was starting to fade away, just like your sanity. You knew you had strong feelings for Flowey at this point but you didn't understand how they became  _ that  _ strong. You two bonded over your pasts, both of them being somewhat traumatic, and sure there had been a crap ton of flirting but that didn’t necessarily--

Your body twitched as more fluid ran down your leg, and you sighed out in embarrassment, secretly thanking some higher power for Flowey not being available to watch.

Flowey was nowhere to be found, thankfully, but you had to clean up… wherever the shower may be.

You glanced around the upper floor of Alphys’ lab, all too excited that you had cleaned the place up or else it would’ve been impossible to find anything anywhere. But finally not too far from where you stood there was a door with a fairly old piece of paper that had been taped to the front, reading  _ ‘real bathroom’ _ , and you thought nothing of it as you wobbled yourself there. The automatic door slid itself open at your approach, and as soon as you stepped through, you locked the door behind you once it closed and leaned your back against it. Gazing around the dimly lit restroom, you smiled at the sight of the shower, as well as the toilet and of course a sink… as dirty as the place appeared, you needed to clean up and now wasn’t the best time to complain about filth… considering you were  _ total trash. _

 

_ Sorry, right… no kinkshame zone. _

 

The water worked of course. Running water wasn’t a fear you had, unlike at Flowey’s home in the ruins when even the sink wouldn’t turn on. Flowey after all made you instant noodles yesterday(or earlier today? You still had no idea), he had to have gotten the water from somewhere. So as soon as you stepped inside and turned the knob, the water ran from the shower head and let the cold bathe you. You shivered, trying to adjust the temperature a bit, until finally you managed to catch the perfect setting and just stood there in the water for a good long while. Mentally slapping yourself of course, but letting your skin absorb the clean liquid as it removed the… unclean fluids from your body. Your mind raced in wonder, the same confusion that hit you when you were about to begin your sexcapade with Flowey… the positive and the negative collided in your brain, resulting in you questioning  _ “why would you do something so dumb?!” _ as well as  _ “why didn't you survive for round three?!” _

It was easy to think to yourself that it all felt terribly satisfying and good. Just hard to admit these thoughts aloud, even to yourself. 

You two had ‘officially’ connected, at least on a physical level since you both were still getting through the mental connections. Sharing each other’s stories and worlds, letting them collide through conversation, and now it had lead to the both of you watching inappropriate anime together and having sex during it. You knew what those feelings were finally, the ones you had kept pushing away since the kiss he had planted on your lips at the end of waterfall(which was not too long ago mind you). You knew that even though it had only been probably just half a week of being underground, you felt something for Flowey that you never felt with anyone else.

But on top of that, it was a terrifying feeling. Caring for someone who believed they could never care for you in the same way… and not only that, but you would be returning to the surface without him.

There had to have been some way to bring him up with you, right? There had to have been… but, Frisk’s words in the echo flower rang through your head as a reminder that there was a promise they swore to keep, they had promised Asriel.. and Flowey… that they would keep the monsters and humans safe. And they would remain as such only for as long as Flowey remained underground.

 

For if Flowey couldn’t trust himself, how could anyone trust him?

_ “̴I̸’̴m̴ ̸s̷o̸ ̶s̵o̷r̴r̷y̷…̵ ̴F̵l̸o̴w̸e̶y̵…̸ ̶A̵s̴r̸i̴e̷l̸…̸ ̷I̷’̵m̶ ̴s̶o̷ ̶s̶o̶r̵r̸y̷!̴”̸ _

_ “̵I̸’̸m̵ ̸s̵o̴ ̴s̵o̴r̵r̶y̸,̶ ̸F̷l̵o̵w̵e̴y̶.̸ ̸S̴t̴a̶y̸ ̶d̸e̵t̶e̷r̸m̴i̶n̶e̶d̴…̸”̵ _

Your soul ached, but it also yearned. There had to have been a way....

 

And finally you got to work on yourself.

 

There wasn’t much soap available, but you scrubbed yourself down anyway to the best of your ability. Letting the water run through your hair, rubbing your face and eyes of the tiredness, and cleaning yourself up as a whole so you would be more refreshed and awake. Your body remained sore even after you had finished your shower, but you were thankful for it nonetheless as you turned it off and stepped out.

You couldn’t find a towel, however you found an old rag in the corner of the bathroom that you hesitantly used to dry off before heading back out in your naked glory to hunt for your clothes. You hadn’t realized it at first, but soon enough you found them folded quite neatly on the desk. Approaching them however reminded you of how filthy they were. Dirty and worn from your rather long journey to Hotland, and a bit torn due to Flowey discarding them a bit recklessly before the two of you got down to  _ business. _ There was, honestly, no point in even trying to wear them. So you went over to what you noticed to be an abandoned armoire, and opened it up quickly in hopes of finding something. At this point, anything was wearable.

A cloud of dust filled the air before you, but thankfully you avoided it quite well with a wave of your hand to let it vanish before returning to focus on what remained inside. Two lab jackets (one more of a faded yellow than the other), a striped shirt (yellow and orange, that looked more big than your actual size) and a pair of shorts(that would look mostly like pants on you). In no position to complain, you gathered what you could and went to lay them out on the bed before changing.

It was while you were sliding the shirt over your head, after you had pulled on the pants and rolled the legs up to perform as shorts, that you heard sound coming from downstairs. With no doubt in your mind that it was probably Flowey, you slid on the lab coat. In a place like Hotland, you didn’t exactly need to wear it, but you figured it wouldn’t hurt to have just in case. You let your boots remain by the bed when you noticed they had been placed there, but you knew you would grab them later when the two of you headed into the basement to find the ‘true lab’ as Flowey had put it. 

 

As you stepped on the escalators that directed you downward, you wondered how you could even bring up what had happened between the two of you. The only type of sex you ever had were one night stands, nothing as intimate as what you felt occurred between you and Flowey (even if it was mostly him teasing you verbally and ‘claiming you as his’ like some object). On the surface during these situations, you found yourself gathering your things and leaving without the bat of an eye the morning after, if it was with acquaintances or people you knew it didn’t change anything between the two of you. After sex you figured that was when you were more comfortable and open with someone because you bared all and there was nothing else to hide(the exception of personal histories and etc.) ...and yet as you continued riding the escalator downward to greet Flowey, you were concerned about saying something dumb to him. You knew now why you were like this, but the real question was about Flowey. Would he be acting the same silly way as you were?

To be honest, probably not.

The closer you got to the main floor, the louder the noises became. They were coming from the television, and suddenly you could make out exactly what they were.  _ Moans _ , passionate screams, and pleads… definitely two persons doing the  _ do _ , and you couldn’t help but snicker. For a plant that had mocked you for your tastes in kinks(before banging you into the couch), it was hilarious imagining Flowey casually picking another porn to watch all on his own. Did last night inspire him in some way? Now you were curious if what had happened released some inner sex beast just--

 

_ Okay, stop. _

 

You finally stepped off the escalator with a deep inhale, and a slow exhale of your breath.

One night stands were easier to handle, there was no intimacy involved, it was just sex.  _ Bing bang boom and scene _ then strut away from the situation-- but you couldn’t exactly do that with Flowey… and even if you could, you didn’t want to.

You didn’t make your way to him just yet, the flower was so focused on the screen that he hadn’t even noticed your appearance into the room. The moans in the background continued, and his facial expression was all too comical considering instead of smiling or laughing at parts like he had done yesterday, he had a rather serious focus on this one in particular. It looked almost as if he were studying it, observing their reactions and things of that nature. Perhaps he was taking this moment to see how certain feelings worked?

Flowey’s beady eyes and stiff lip stared onward, and you carefully made your way to the kitchen to rummage the fridge without daring to interrupt him.

Opening the door with a grunt, you peeked inside to, well, find plenty of instant noodle packets. They didn’t need to be refrigerated so it made no sense that they were, but there was nothing else in the fridge for breakfast… or dinner… whatever time it was. You were officially giving up on keeping track of your time, and with a sigh, you shut the fridge door. You were craving something similar to pancakes, but with these ingredients that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

Another reason why you needed to get back to the surface. You’d never take any food for granted ever again.

Turning around,  s̶e̶n̶p̶a̶i̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶i̶c̶e̶d̶ Flowey was suddenly looking your way.

 

“Morning.” He said almost lazily, as if he were the one to have just woken up, and answered the question you’ve been thinking about all…  _ morning _ , apparently. So it was now morning, meaning another day had been spent. It wasn’t as relaxing yesterday as you had hoped, but it was better than not doing anything at all you supposed… so you shrugged it off in the back of your mind.

_ “Howdy.” _ You mocked, smirking at his disinterest as he looked back to the TV. However, it was only to turn it off, suddenly the silence was deafening.

“Did you sleep okay?” Flowey asked as you decided to take a seat on the table near the tiny kitchen space. You gave a small nod, looking over the empty table to distract yourself from thinking about Flowey with his tongue hanging out and drool escaping his mouth. “Yeah, I slept fine, thanks for taking me there… I must’ve been heavy.”

“Not… really.” Flowey defended you surprisingly, and you found your face heating up as he continued “You were pretty light, it’s easy to carry you around. Especially when you’re unconscious and not fighting back.”

 

Was he trying to flatter you or  _ creep you out? _

 

Unsure about whether he was just saying that because the two of you had sex, or whether he was saying that in truth, made you wrinkle your nose. His vines wobbled when lifting you on that ledge before too, so you were assuming that he was probably… possibly… a liar.

It wasn’t that you were  _ that _ self conscious about your weight either, simply that you recalled him referring to it a few times as well as struggling with it, and suddenly he claimed you weren’t heavy at all.

Who knows, perhaps his sexual frustration gave him strength that had been locked away.

Trying to think of something else to say, you finally showed him a smile, that rather quickly made his cheeks redden “So, watching more freaky movies I see?” You let your smile get somewhat smug “For someone who was mocking me and Alphys yesterday, it’s really interesting seeing you watch this stuff on your own. You should turn it back on so I can figure out what to kinkshame  _ you  _ for.”

Your little teasing and poke at him didn’t exactly have any effect, however. Flowey returned your smirk with his own, it was even more mocking than yours, and suddenly he lifted his flower pot with the two vines that sprouted on either side of him, and swiftly swung himself over. It was a surprisingly  _ far  _ swing, if he were a human you would have assumed he was apart of the Olympics from how large of a leap he took to get from the couch to where you were. With you sitting on the table, him suddenly landing pot first against the edge and right next to you made you jump and practically fall forward. But on cue, Flowey used one vine to balance himself on the table, and another to wrap around your torso and slam you backward against the furniture, your back planting itself onto the surface of the solid space with a heavy thud. You whimpered, opening your mouth to protest, only for it to be hushed by a vine covering your lips. Flowey snickered as his face hovered over yours so you could see him clear enough, even with your head up towards the ceiling “You were so into our rendezvous yesterday, I was merely picking up other…  _ suggestions. _ ” As he pulled the vine away to allow you to speak, you breathed out in confusion “ _ Suggestions? _ For what?”

“Some more playtime…” Flowey hummed thoughtfully “This is, after all, our own playground isn’t it? We’ve had so much fun here together~”

You weren’t sure exactly what he was talking about, though the mentioning of a playground did bring you back to when you first visited Flowey’s home in the ruins. He had referred the underground to his  _ ‘playground’ _ , and even said he didn’t mind you being apart of it. You felt a strange feeling in your gut however from the fact that he suddenly claimed it to not just be his own, but yours as well. What did that mean? Did he accept you as a friend? Did he accept you as… more than that?

Your heart raced, and his face only moved closer, his hungry eyes gazing deeply into yours “Nice clothes. But I took them off yesterday for a reason, so can you just keep it that way?”

Your mind reeled as fast as your heart pounded from Flowey’s sudden release of your bindings that held you down, but only for him to start tugging the lab coat off of you. He did it swiftly and very successfully, and even tossed it away just as he had done to your clothing yesterday. 

He was ready for round two-- after you had just woken up and were still trying to comprehend what the hell was happening between you both. Flowey had gone from an embarrassed and coy tsundere trying to kill you, to a hungry lecher craving some sexual fix at the sight of you? At least… from what you can tell. It had only been a day of his newfound limbido, and yours considering you hadn’t banged in forever and a half and were finding yourself secretly trembling with lust. 

However when you tried to regain focus on the current situation due to your constantly wandering mind, Flowey was already undoing your pants.

 

“I just showered! Geeze!” You yelped finally, squirming out of his grip and managing to hurry from the table to the couch. Almost like a child, you maneuvered behind it to try and hide, though peeking over the top to look at him from a safer distance “You made a huge mess of me yesterday! I was  _ leaking  _ when I got up and I could barely walk! You think I wanna go through that again twice in a row?!” Not to mention your legs were already getting wobbly on you like they had before.

“What, you think I haven’t had to clean up myself from your own  _ mess? _ ” He continued his rather lustrous smile, glancing your way and not bothering to move from his spot. Though he had tossed the labcoat away, suddenly he needed to occupy his vines for whatever reason and had picked it back up from the floor just to fold it neatly and set it on the bit of counter space beside the kitchen sink “And besides, I was only gonna examine you~ for any damage, of course. I know I got carried away yesterday, last thing I want is my favorite toy to be damaged.”

So now you were some inanimate object… well, at least you were supposedly his ‘favorite’.

Knowing fully well he was bad at lying, thanks to your experiments on him pretending to not enjoy your kisses in the beginning, for some reason you still felt inclined to oblige. His demands were ridiculous, you were laughing at yourself as you moved from behind the couch and carefully, slowly, made your way back to the table near the kitchen. Flowey patted the top of it with a vine, a cheeky grin replacing his lustful one “Take off your clothes and lie on your stomach, okay? It’ll be quick I promise.”

“I feel fine though.” You said, though you looked down at yourself as you obeyed and began to strip before him. Lifting your shirt overhead to reveal your chest, and then wiggling out of your pant-shorts to reveal everything else you had to show. For some reason you found it almost too natural to obey his demands. And like he had done with the lab coat, you folded them up and set them on top of the counter space, before carefully climbing onto the table to lay yourself flat on it. Resting your cheek against its surprisingly smooth surface and showing him the bare backside of your body, as the front side relaxed over the top of the table. “Nothing’s wrong.” You added, trying to brush off the uneasy feeling. You still smelled a faint trace of honey wafting in the air, only assuming that it must have been coming from Flowey considering you had showered and scrubbed yourself down enough to remove those traces. 

 

The fact that it was even in the air made you realize that-- well,  _ mistakes have been made. _

 

It was too late for your brain, any scent of honey made you think of sex.

 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t check up on your health.” He muttered finally, though not being able to see him, you had no idea what he was now doing behind you. You just closed your eyes and tried your best to prepare for the unknown. His voice almost sounded teasing, like he was mostly making fun of your naivety than anything. Which made sense, considering the position you were currently in. “Just think of me as your doctor~ and you as the patient~ you’ll be alright… you’re in good hands.”

You snorted “Don’t you mean in  _ good plants? _ ”

He seemed to groan at this, whether it was a positive or negative groan however you couldn’t wrap your finger around.

You couldn’t help it, it was right there. You snickered at your own joke, but as soon as he muttered “ _ Yeah~ _ ” in response to it, you felt something poke the spot you definitely didn’t think to get poked. The familiar feeling of a vine brushing between your legs, before sliding between your buttcheeks in a slow and even pace-- your body immediately got hot. The sticky feeling returned, and you realized that it had definitely been Flowey who had released more of his sweet nectar, considering you could already feel it on your skin as his vine continued brushing and prodding behind you.

 

You parted your lips and breathed out his name, trying to plead for him to give you a break. Yesterday had worn you out, you were still sore, and you would much rather do something else to pass the time than have another round of  _ ‘fuck the flower’.  _ Didn’t the two of you plan on going downstairs into the basement anyway? What good would it do to have more sex at this point?

Though, for some reason, all that escaped your throat was a low groan as the vine(surprisingly already fully budded) slid slow and deep inside of you from behind. You whined, the deepness of the wriggling vine inside of you making your body squirm and try to adjust, and as you did so he continued the excruciatingly slow pace of taking your ass. The thick and roughly textured tendril slid itself back out, only to slam deep into you, the rhythm and pattern continuing evenly… slowly pulling out, ramming back inside, slowly pulling out and then shoving it deep inside... granting you a slow and surprisingly gentle fuck unlike yesterday.

_ “I won’t hurt you…” _ Flowey reassured you, his words as shaky and soft as his breathing, his head slowly tucked into the crook of your neck just so he could nibble and chew along your skin softly. The biting was rather ticklish, but the combination of being tickled and pleasured only made it turn you on, more so than you already were. Too easily you became slick for him, but even with his vine sliding more fluently in and out of your rear end, his pace remained slow and deep, rocking your body back and forth as if you were grinding against the table itself, as more vines wrapped around you gently yet firmly. And then almost as if you were his own personal doll, he lifted you up by your hips, letting your ass lift in the air so you sat on your knees, but pressing a weight on your back so that your chest and face remained pressed into the table. He bit harder into your neck, but it only sent a surge of sexual hunger through you like electricity. You found yourself craving for the same rough sex as yesterday, but let out a whimper instead of a request.

Either way, he was right, you weren’t feeling any sort of pain so the check up was going swell.

And of course you were enjoying yourself.

_ Ashamed sure _ , but enjoying yourself.

 

Sensual and pleasurable, your body tingled all over from the strange sensations that continued to surge through you. Your toes curled as he grinded inside of you, the tendrils had only gotten thicker while delved into your hole, and you could feel the flower buds from within twitch and spurt the slightest bit of nectar, perhaps similar to precum, against your recently cleaned walls. You had been clean moments ago, and now you were once again a hot and sweaty mess of a human getting banged on a kitchen table by a flower. 

What was he to you? Who were  _ you _ to  _ him?  _

The fact that you two still hadn’t figured it out was too concerning, but the thoughts were suddenly rattled out your brain when the tip of his vine slammed into your sweet spot.

That spot alone made you cry out from the sudden pleasure, your fingers curled in an attempt to grip at the table top beneath you, however to no avail and to only find your nails scraping whatever you could. The loud moan that had escaped you so suddenly gave Flowey the go ahead to coo at your excitement, a tiny laugh in mockery as he breathed into your ear, and suddenly all hell broke loose.

His restraints and hold on you tightened up to give you the all too familiar performance of yesterday; commanding, controlling, and suddenly he had pulled the vine out from inside you so fast that the red flower tip from the bud made a ‘popping’ noise. You didn’t want to beg him for release, and you didn’t plan on it either if that was why he was holding back. Unlike most who would turn into a horny pile of mush and start verbally begging to get fucked, you did quite well with walking it off. Your world didn’t revolve around these sorts of acts, so what use was it to try and get it in? (Not that now was a good example) Your body tensed, feeling strangely empty, but ready to play it off the moment he asked for you to beg.

Well, you’d beg  _ mentally…  _ but never out loud, of course.

“Hm… I found something that seemed to be bothering you~” Flowey teased, returning to his little roleplay as you took the time to catch your breath “What was that scream just now? Was that pain? I’m sorry~” He pressed a little peck to your neck, making your body jolt “That little area made you scream, see? And you thought I had no idea what I was doing, tch… see, never doubt me, sweetheart. You might find yourself in a really  _ fucked up _ situation.”

The guy who hates you using puns but only allows himself to use them. And at the worst moments in time.

The red flower squeezed its honey fluids on your entrance, you found yourself closing your eyes as you tried to subtly part your legs, and after having coated all of your bottom as well as your inner thighs, he slipped the flower inside of you again, and then pushed more of the vine deeper within. Flowey shuddered, groaning weakly as he hissed through clenched teeth “ _ Hn… yeah, _ let the doctor take care of you…” The sensual and agonizingly slow motions returned, his voice wavering from the pleasures he was feeling just like you “You belong to  _ me. _ Like  _ this, _ I’ll take care of you...”

The possessiveness had begun as well, just as the slow pattern had. With each pull out, the tendril shoved itself deeper inside, back and forth, as he repeated his demands into your ear and against your neck. Quite certain he was marking your neck all over as much as he had marked your ass and now was about to mark your insides. You could only imagine you would be a walking honey pot by the end of your journey, coated in Flowey’s scent no matter how much you scrubbed and cleaned. Your heart raced though, the thought of Flowey ‘owning’ you made your body tremble, and after such a long while of being slow fucked in this strange yet deep and ‘romantical’ moment, you realized you got excited over it all. You got a soulless flower to become obsessed with you, and you with him. Nothing better than proving someone wrong, right?

 

It was against your morals to  _ rub it in _ but, with Flowey doing it to you you figured it wouldn’t hurt this once.

 

“I-I knew you could feel things…” You managed breathlessly, and with a soft laugh escaping you almost too similar to a sigh. Flowey had chuckled lowly just as so, his movements had stopped for a moment, leaving his vine deep inside of you, and letting it squirm and wiggle against your sticky walls to leave you being teased and toyed with as he spoke into your ear “Well of course I can… I’m feeling  _ you  _ up, aren’t I?”

Flowey snorted “Well,  _ more _ than that at this point.”

Your body finally twitched, the flower head slammed into your sweet spot in time with your muscles tightening. This was the time you wanted him to fuck you like crazy; your back arched naturally and you parted your legs more just so he had better access, and you could feel your own drool beginning to pool against the table you pressed your face into. You did your best to raise your hips more but-- he kept his slow yet deep pace. For a flower who had claimed to have never done this type of thing before, he had way too much self control. You were going insane, but you were reaching a slow build-up climax, your body trembling in preparation to what was about to happen. You weren’t gonna beg…  _ you weren’t gonna beg-- _

And this time you announced it, you breathed out how close you were to your finish, and Flowey could hear perfectly fine since he was right next to your face making out with your neck. He pulled your flesh with his teeth then, smacking his lips as he released your neck, and suddenly he made certain that you two had made eye contact as you reached the finish line. With a smaller vine, he wrapped it around your head to make you keep your face focused on only him, and your eyes naturally did not dare to look away as you could feel the sweet pleasure of release aiming for your nether regions. His smug smile that had been stuck on his face during this entire slow-sex session had vanished and been replaced with an all  _ too  _ serious look of contentment. It was like a sense of longing, like he searched your eyes for something more, something he had been searching for for a really long time. Even as he spoke up, his serious expression hadn’t changed. Flowey suddenly demanded  _ “Kiss me.” _ in a soft whisper, before you found yourself doing as you were told, leaning your head forward(as best as a vine restrained human can) and you kissed him.

 

The second kiss you two had ever shared, and the second kiss in your entire life. One night stands were completely useless at this point, you knew you’d never have them again because they wouldn’t bring you the pleasure you felt from Flowey’s kisses alone. A thousand humans in a huge fuck fest didn’t even compare to Flowey and his, well, everything. 

If you had known this was what it would feel like to kiss someone, you would have kissed plenty of times before; hell you would’ve made out with all the people you’ve ever had sex with-- but for some reason you never felt a need to kiss anyone before, let alone during something as  _ dirty  _ and sloppy as sex.

And while the first kiss you and Flowey shared had been a mistake on his part, this time this kiss wasn’t an accident. It was more intimate, deep and passionate as the flower inside of you pulsed and your body quivered in ecstasy. Your moans were drowned out by his kiss, inaudible and simple mutters and mumbles against his soft face. All you could do was open your mouth against his in hopes of your excitable noises being heard, but you were easily silenced once more with his tongue wrapping around yours, exploring your mouth. His tongue was as vine-like as the rest of him, but it tasted just like the honey nectar seed that he had splashed in your mouth yesterday, the same smell that floated in the air around you. His tongue vine slid deeper and around your mouth, practically making you choke and swallow it down, your gag reflex making you twitch and grunt as you finally closed your eyes tightly to focus on the pleasure again.

 

The plant had searched through your mouth as if hunting for something, grunting and sighing with you as your body tensed up more and started to tremble. He managed to let out a small noise before having the audacity to inform you “I’m gonna come inside…” Adding a chuckle and breathless sigh “I’m gonna fill you up to the brim buttercup~ you’ll make such a mess again~ but try not to spill so much this time, hm?”

 

Your climax was finally here, your muscles squeezed against the plant matter inside of your lower body, and even with your restraints that behaved like puppet strings to keep you in place, you rolled your hips against the vine in desperation for release. Rolled and moved them to make him go deeper, even if he refused to give up his slow and agonizing pace, you were definitely going to finish now. But he still clung to you, keeping your head still and against his, and even using his tiny leaves to cup your cheeks just to deepen the kiss and let his tongue-like vine slip further down your throat.

You moaned against him, he mumbled against you, the exact words he had said though you couldn’t remember as you finally reached your release with a heavy sigh, his tongue sliding down your throat and grinding in your mouth as much as he did your nether regions. The tendrils curled, stiffened, but fluidly wriggled along your walls while your orgasm calmed. And just as you had relaxed, suddenly his climax came in waves. You didn’t get a chance to catch your breath as the honey-jizz filled you up to the brim and, as he had said for you not to do, caused a bit to spill. And even as the flower pulled out quickly after he had filled you, it only sprayed more along your back and ass before fully retracting and letting his tongue pull away from your lips too. He took in a few soft breaths, lightly panting as you began your own quest for air, but he kept a now gentler hold of your face. Flowey’s tongue remained hanging out, his eyes closed, probably trying to compose himself as much as you were, before he finally returned his tongue inside his own mouth and smirked towards you, half-lidded eyes gazing over your features. His dominant tone returned, repeating his possessive antics “You’re  _ mine _ … don’t forget that.”

 

Your heart was pounding so hard against your chest, you were concerned about getting a heart attack. All your senses were clouded and drowned out with the taste and smell of honey, that drunken feeling came over you like it had done yesterday as gold pollen began to float and dance around the two of you and in your only line of sight. 

You nodded though, you agreed with him. 

You simply agreed and nodded quick as he flipped you over onto your back. Finding yourself mumbling  _ ‘yes’ _ under your breath like a drone who had lost their mind, you even thought his laugh was rather charming, no matter how low and groggy it sounded as he went down on you to  _ ‘clean up his mess’ _ . 

But none of it mattered, you felt so high that the world was spinning and you tried to focus on the ceiling even if it was falling down around you. The smell of honey filled your nostrils and fogged your brain, and he fucked you again for round three… though apparently with his mouth this time.

You couldn’t recall ever receiving oral this good before. And already sensitive and not having fully recovered from your last orgasm, this one felt a tinge more painful and came all too quickly. The golden flower wasn’t a fan of you touching his head either to push him more into your crotch, because as you felt your climax build after only a few mere minutes, you were prepared to slam him down into you-- however that was halted. With invisible brows furrowed in a sort of glare up to you, his vines grasped at your wrists and held you down, only permitting you to let your legs squeeze on either side of him before finding release. Slow, deep, and intense like before. Face to face, your arms over your head and tied down, as he watched you make those ‘passionate’ faces you made.

 

Was this really it? You belonged to Flowey and he wanted you as some sort of  _ sex toy? _

This was your fault, you found the dumb fetish movies and decided to lead him to them, and now he was addicted.

 

After Flowey had ‘cleaned you up’, you found yourself in need of another shower.

 

Thankfully you convinced him to not join you (because you both knew that it was only him asking for  _ round four _ ), so you took your folded clothes and made your way back up the escalators to return to the real bathroom (for some reason the one on the main floor wasn’t exactly opening). You watched him as you were being carried upward by the moving steps, Flowey had returned himself to the couch to flip on the television and the erotic sounds filled the lab again. You had a mixture of bemusement and disgust before he was finally out of your line of sight and you hurried your way to the restroom, clenching as best as you could as to not leak anything like you had done earlier.

Surprisingly, you found yourself thankful that he had been in a slow and gentle mood, since your legs weren’t in a wobbly or weakened state, and you didn’t need to concern yourself with collapsing in the shower. You made sure to especially lock the door to the bathroom so he couldn’t sneak up on you, and you sat on the toilet as you prepped the shower; leaving it running so that the water could get hotter.

Left alone to ponder the choices you’ve made so far.

Once more, you felt hurt and concerned about leaving him, truly trying to think of some way for Frisk to perhaps let Flowey free after you explain how much he’s helped you. There had to be some way for him to join you, for the two of you to go home together. You were embarrassed to admit it, even to yourself… but you were already feeling ready to see how this ‘relationship’ could go. You had never exactly been in one before, but you could only imagine that this is how it felt to truly care enough about someone to… well… walk hand in hand(well, vine in hand) and go on dates and random romantic spots together. Wandering the surface together... introducing Flowey as your boyfriend.

 

You couldn’t believe your own thoughts…  _ (and I couldn’t really believe them either) _

So what was the feeling you were feeling? Was it truly something more than just lust and desire? Did you care for him more than just some fetish or kink? Or was that it?

Was this all you two would ever be?

 

Thinking it over, Flowey was making it all the more clear that he owned you, and in no way did he make it seem like it was deeper than sex. In a way he behaved as if you were just a sex object he was using... 

But... when he had looked into your eyes and demanded that kiss however, your stomach fluttered with butterflies at the thoughts that maybe there was something there, something different than his usual self. His need to try and show that he truly… felt something,  _ anything _ for you. That small moment of holding your face as he kissed and pecked your lips with his own, searching in your eyes with such a forlorn look in his own gaze… it had to have meant something.

Maybe. Who knows.

 

You lifted from the toilet, realizing that the aftermath of your actions had begun. The nectar ran down your leg and, as you were sitting there, some even spilled into the toilet water. The entire bathroom smelled just like the strong sweet scents of the downstairs, of yesterday’s mess, of today’s events. You would probably smell like Flowey forever if this kept up, and even as you stepped into the shower and tried to scrub away your sins, the smell remained if not faint and gentle. Flowey’s musk, he had claimed his territory alright, and you not only let it happen but you enjoyed it. You were however starting to regret it, you were concerned that it would be hard for the both of you to let each other go for your own sake of getting back to the surface.

There had to be a way around this, there just  _ had _ to be.

But you didn’t know how to talk it out with Flowey. As open as the two of you had been with one another about each other’s pasts (and sexual endeavors), these deep and brooding personal feelings you tucked under lock and key in your mind and heart.

It felt like too much.

 

You stepped out the shower, turning the water off and using the same rag as earlier before unlocking the bathroom door and redressing. Once again, you descended the escalators to find Flowey still on the couch, only this time there were two bowls of noodles with him.

“Finally.” He muttered when he spotted you, gesturing with his head for you to come over. You quietly complied, and he lifted one of the bowls towards you with a vine before you took it and sat down on the couch. Instead of like your first day here, sitting at the far end away from him, you found yourself sitting right beside him as the two of you quietly ate and watched, well, porn together.

 

How lovely.

 

Such a bonding experience!

 

Flowey had finished his bowl before you, apparently so hungry that he even sipped up the broth remains before setting the dish down and looking back to the television. You were only halfway done with your meal by the time the hentai (well you were certain it was a yaoi) had finished, and instead of letting the static continue to fill the silence, Flowey had turned it off. There wasn’t much else to do however, Alphys didn’t leave many activities behind other than her shameful porn stash, and with the two of you apparently too embarrassed to speak, Flowey was just as silent as you were, even as you awkwardly slurped noisily at your noodles.

Finally though, after a moment of silence for no particular reason, he looked to you. Almost shyly, his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed “Did you enjoy it?” He dared to ask, and you tried not to choke on the noodle half way down your throat.

Though your gag reflex was getting better thanks to the Flowey training.

“Do you mean these noodles?” You gave a small grin, and he rolled his eyes before looking back to you as you gave a more serious answer “If I didn’t... would I have finished with you?” You asked in return, embarrassed that you had even said that and quickly stuffing your mouth with the remaining instant noodles soon after. 

Flowey had found this amusing and laughed lightly, nudging you with a vine and muttering “Slob.” Before turning his head away from you. Probably unfamiliar with how to show true affection, you could only believe that he was pondering on ways to express his feelings towards you. But there was nothing worse than force, so you simply kept quiet before finishing off your meal and setting the bowl down.

Nothing came through however, Flowey remained silently pondering over things that you wished he would express, but you weren’t going to push it.

 

“Hey, Flowey…” You breathed out lightly, licking your lips as you side-eyed him. He did the same towards you, his petals perking up “Hm?”

 

“Can I... kiss you?”

 

His face flushed, his stare wavered and you found him looking downward at his flower pot, all the while you started to shift your body to face his. You tucked a leg underneath you as you got as comfortable as you possibly could on the old couch. He mumbled something, through your lack of a response he thankfully decided to repeat himself “W-Why are you asking? Just… do it, if you really want to. Dumbass.”

You smiled and shrugged as casually as your racing heart would let you “Alright.” 

And you leaned down to his level and quickly pressed your lips to his. Eyes closed, mouths open, you two almost hummed in unison, the stamp of approval from the both of you as he returned your affections with his own. No tongue involved, nothing sloppy or lustful, just a gentle and enjoyable kiss shared between two folks in denial. Your third kiss from him and your third in your lifetime. So far, you were on a roll.

 

Your soul vibrated in your chest, the fluctuating colors made your chest glow rather brightly, but it went completely ignored as you two continued your lip locking showdown. Your soul was wrapped around your heart, vibrating, and with your heart already pounding you only assumed your chest was looking like a set of colorful speakers that blasted a musical tune only you could hear. It wanted to burst out and go to him, but you couldn’t do that. 

You knew you couldn’t, or at least, for the time being you thought you couldn’t.

Maybe this was all a bad idea since the two of you were doomed to be torn apart. 

You felt a sense of longing, and as the two of you finally broke your kiss, staring into eachothers eyes, you knew that there had to be some way to get Flowey to the surface.

 

You were…

 

**D  E  T  E  R  M  I  N  E  D  .**

  
And then round four began on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Hm... writing out anal is always so weird for me...  
> > Flowey has an addiction... hopefully it'll be fixed by tomorrow--
> 
> > ~~or perhaps three days.~~


	14. You Gazed Into Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is your fault--” His voice was as deep as an ocean, wavering as if unsure of himself. He was being completely overwhelmed with emotions out of his control, and you couldn’t blame him for blaming you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > EDIT: Tags updated  
> > Yandere Mode Engaged, Systems Switched to Overload. Brace for impact.
> 
> > This chapter goes great with the song “Reckless” by Gareth Emery… at least for me-- then again I love that fast beat club shit so.  
> > but everytime i heard this song on the radio it made me think of this chapter and just get all feelsy ;w;  
> > Not really lemon warning… more like **blood orange**.

###  **Chapter Fourteen:** ** _You Gazed Into Hell_**

And so it begun. You knew something was terribly off today the moment you woke up in the bed as if the day had been repeated countless amounts of times. You were getting familiar, comfortable, and that was a big sign that there was a problem.

You felt your sins crawling on your back… almost like vines, stretching and sinking deep into your skin. Gripping, stinging, making your body ache with regret and remorse. Seeking atonement for your actions, you knew it was time to push forward. You were slowly getting stuck, literally like honey you were beginning to lose your run and solidify into that of… well… an adventurer searching for a place to finally settle.

 

But this was not the right place to settle.

 

Your mind raced, wondering whether you truly had to remind Flowey that you two needed to get into the basement or not. 

He hadn’t brought it up for  _ two days--  _

You’ve been in Alphys’ lab for  _ two whole days now _ , doing absolutely  _ nothing _ more than having sex, eating noodles, and watching porn.

Stuck in some sexual fantasy where all the two of you ever did was the same thing on repeat, and for awhile you had to admit you almost lost yourself in it all. You didn’t want to return to reality, you didn’t want to go back to the surface, you wanted to stay like this forever. Carefree, no stress, just… permanent release. A world of sin--

 

So of course, when Flowey suddenly told you “Let’s head back to the ruins, alright?”

You were left wondering, in your little mess of a mind, how badly did you  _ really  _ want to join him?

 

And so it begun… you felt your sins crawling on your back… 

 

And you were reminded of what you came down here to do; get information, then go home.

 

At the time you didn’t realize that you had messed up so much, how could something that felt  _ so good _ be so bad for you?

 

After round four on the couch, you didn’t even bother to hurry to take a shower. In a way, you had suddenly become so accustomed and comfortable in the sugary honey scent that you actually enjoyed it. You practically  _ marinated _ yourself in Flowey’s musk, and then almost immediately after round four had finished, round five began.

Sure, you two took a food break after you found your stomach grumbling from not only too much  _ sugar,  _ but lack of actual food in your belly… but even in the middle of eating the two of you started round six which caused noodles to spill and stains to be formed.

At least when you two went for rounds seven and eight you actually went to use the bed like normal people-- not that either of you were normal of course. But due to how old the sheets were, it was mostly a round of sex that resulted in you sneezing a lot and Flowey yelling at you to  not do it in his direction.

And then nine was in the shower.

And near the climax of each sexcapade you two shared, he went through the same actions, the same demands, every moment Flowey reached his peak, he would utter the same commanding phrase he had been doing, letting you thoroughly understand “You’re  _ mine. _ ”

And after all that banging, you truly were starting to believe it.

Your mind had been so rattled and sprung that you could barely recall much of what happened during most of the rounds, you just knew you enjoyed it  _ very much _ . At this point, you wore the honey-glaze like some sort of perfume, and decided to settle with the excuse of “Well, it smells better than burning sweat and dirt.”

But that was only because you’ve tried already to scrub it out of your skin, out of your hair, out of your mind… but it apparently sank into your pores, became one with your flesh, and now you wafted a gentle flowery fragrance that, in a sense, would never go away. But that probably wasn’t the biggest problem you were facing. You were certain after some time it would eventually fade away. Like glitter that you would find in places long after you’ve used it, you knew in due time all the honey smells would vanish.

 

But your main concern was that you were getting  _ too comfortable with all this. _ And so was he. 

You did your best to suppress the urges, the cravings, the wanderlust that filled your heart. A piece of you ready to move on and explore the underground, another piece of you ready to stay with Flowey, and then the third piece of you wanting more than anything to just go home.

After round nine, after showering and realizing his scent wouldn’t go away so easily anymore, and then after settling with calling it your latest  _ Honey Pot Perfume _ , suddenly the world started to spin again and the sticky substances that probably kept your mind in place crumbled to let the cogs turn and your brain process things normally. Which was, of course, around the same time that Flowey had suggested the two of you go  _ back _ to the ruins together. Back to his home, just to relax and live the rest of your life down here with him. Even if he didn’t word it that way, it was practically a  _ proposal _ . 

 

His only words were  _ “Let’s head back to the ruins, alright?” _

 

But it was an invitation, a calling. 

 

Flowey wanted you to stay with him, and like he had mentioned before, the playground was now meant for the  _ both of you.  _ To rule side by side underground, and to abandon all your troubles and worries of the surface world. Sacrifice everything that made you  _ you _ just to be with him, give it all up... for him…

But, you couldn’t do that… could you?

There was still so much to do, your life needed to be lived. You were more so willing to find a way to bring Flowey up with you, rather than him keep you down below. But either way, as you took your time thinking it over, and as he currently stared at you, plainly, wondering why you were taking so long to follow him to the front door that lead back into Waterfall, you simply stared and pondered over what lead to all this happening in the first place. What made things turn out this way? What made you even question whether to stay with him or not? What made  _ him  _ want  _ you  _ here?

Well… you kissed him on the first day you two met, and then proceeded to kiss him throughout your journey, and then he finally returned the kiss… and then on top of that, the two of you started to watch anime porn together-- it was a chain reaction with many components, but it all sank down to you. 

 

_ You _ started kissing him even before you knew him, and it lead up to Flowey now wanting to  _ use you _ as a sex toy and even take you home to  _ stay _ with him.

 

“Are you  _ brain dead?” _ Flowey finally cut off your train of thought, you blinked and returned your focus to reality. You were back in the clothes you had borrowed from Alphys’ old stash, the sleeves of your lab coat rolled up to your elbows as you looked at the flower, who was already standing at the front door ready to release the lock and let in the hot air of Hotland. His flowerpot small, but it would be easier to carry him if the two of you were to go… back…

“Hurry up, we should get going if we wanna make it back by the afternoon.”

There was the faint smell of honey floating in the air around you, to be honest it was probably the whole laboratory that smelled of it, but the back of your mind kept mentioning that it was definitely you.

“Flowey…” You knew what you had to do, you knew you’d find a way to bring him to the surface… but you knew you couldn’t just stay down here with him. “Flowey, what are you saying? You know I can’t…”

“If you used your  _ legs _ you could.” He replied almost too quickly, and suddenly he whined “Now let’s go~!” His voice made your expression soften, your cheeks flush, at how innocent he was appearing… even with knowing he was far from it.

“Flowey,” You tried again, almost standing on the defensive. You trusted Flowey now, there was no worry about him hurting you. The main concern was him still lashing out and getting emotional and pissed after expressing yourself. “I can’t, you know I have to get back to the surface. We’re already here, right? You said so yourself.”

 

He was silent, and you reminded him lightly “You know, you said the true labs were in the basement? Since we’re here we might as well try to contact the surface, right?”

 

Flowey suddenly unlocked the door, letting it slide open, and letting the hot air in just as fast as the cool air escaped. The clashing of temperatures caused the room to almost immediately rise in humidity, making you somewhat uncomfortable. But even so, he kept staring at you, suddenly a stale smile on his face. It was completely fake, you knew it, and he stiffly replied “Let’s go.” Without even budging to head over to you, or to leave the lab himself. 

 

Waiting, hoping that you had changed your mind. 

 

And it simply hurt seeing him this way. 

 

You failed to realize that perhaps the sex was… even a distraction--  _ just a means to keep you here-- _

 

He noticed you liked that sort of  _ thing _ , and he tried to make the place feel like  _ paradise. A lure, to keep you down here with him. _

 

“Flowey, please.” You approached then, walking up to the door and closing it with the button his vine had held down. With one hand you took his vine between your fingers, and the other locked the door again. You lifted Flowey up in your arms, he still stared at you with an empty smile as you carried him towards the kitchen space to set him on the table “Let’s get down to the true labs, I really need to find a way to contact Frisk so that--”

“Are they all you ever think about?” Flowey finally breathed out, emotion returning to his face, however it wasn’t what you had hoped it would be. His smile faded and he squinted his eyes, glancing away from you to break the spell as he huffed in annoyance “ _ Frisk _ this and  _ Frisk _ that~? Gee… you sure sound like someone who didn’t enjoy your time here. Were they always on your mind even when we played together?”

“Of course I did and-- of course not!” You said rather quickly, frowning at him as he turned his head away with another huff. It was apparent he didn’t believe your words, so you tried to assure him “You know I enjoyed--! I mean-- okay yeah you  _ knoooowww  _ I did. But Frisk is my friend, they’ll be worried about me and I have to tell them I’m stuck down here, don’t I? That was our plan all along. You’re the one who helped me get here just so that I can reach Frisk.”

“You don’t  _ have  _ to tell them  _ anything.”  _ Flowey shook his head swiftly, resulting in his petals swaying with him as he licked his teeth possibly as obnoxiously as he could to show just how disinterested and pissed off he was starting to get “You can vanish, disappear… they won’t miss you, no one will. Because that’s how it works up there...”

You tried not to laugh, though it resulted in you rolling your eyes “Flowey, seriously.”

“I want you to stay, and you know you want to...” Flowey did his best to play off a smile, though when you failed to smile back he suddenly got rather blunt. Looking at you and squinting his beady eyes in distaste “I told you we’re going back to my place. You’re going to live down here now, with me. And now that I’m thinking it over, it doesn’t seem like you’ve got much of a choice,  _ sweetheart. _ ”

 

You tried to think over your next words carefully, wondering if there were even any right answers other than what he wanted to hear. He was expecting you to simply obey him, suddenly his inner brat had returned, the flower you knew back when the two of you first met in the ruins. And definitely not the Flowey you had grown… fond of. 

 

“Flowey,” You started carefully “I’d rather find a way to get you to the surface so the two of us could--”

 

The vine was so fast that you couldn’t even try to defend yourself as it smacked you across the face. The force was so swift that it made your head whip to the side, where you kept your eyes staring in disbelief at the nearest wall as Flowey muttered, this time, in a cold and heartless voice  _ “If I can’t get out of here, then neither will you.” _

 

You suddenly found yourself afraid.  Your bravery and confidence had gone out the window. You were actually shaking-- which was a horrible feeling, because the two of you had gone so far together to move past these emotions. The last time you were like this around him felt like so long ago, back in the ruins when he actually pondered killing you. Was he… thinking about it again? Or was he seriously that  _ desperate _ enough to enslave you?

As you slowly turned your head back to face his, his face had contorted. The menacing and creepy stares that you hadn’t seen in days were suddenly visible and right in front of you. Hollowed out eyes, glowing white pupils staring into your own frightened ones, and jagged grainy teeth... big and sharp enough to bite your head off. Flowey’s breathing was heavy, low, he had transformed himself into some sort of demon just for the sake of keeping you locked up underground.

It was never a playground for the both of you-- he only wanted you down here for himself.

“What… the  _ fuck, _ Flowey…” You managed, rather breathlessly however due to the wind having been knocked out your mouth and trying to reclaim it through shaky gasps. You tried to swallow down the fear that crept up on you, it was only there because you had assured yourself moments ago Flowey wouldn’t hurt you-- only for him to suddenly slap you with no remorse over his actions. He proved you wrong after having believed in him… and now you knew nothing of what’s to come next. “Did you lead me to Alphys’ lab just for us to go back?” You asked gently, holding your breath as his monstrous face loomed and stretched over you. Tendrils slid out of the tiny flower pot, and as far and as large as they had stretched, his entirety looked as if it didn’t even fit that small pot anymore. You persisted however, your brows furrowed in anger at his behavior, your fingers delicately touching your cheek to try and slow down the swelling “Flowey-- did you lead me all the way here to  _ waste my time?! _ ”

“Well here’s another curious question… did you kiss and tease me just to leave?” Flowey asked his own question, ignoring yours. “The moment you first fell... up to this point... all you’ve ever done was try and… rustle up some petals, isn’t that true? Was I some  _ tool _ for your lonely and pitiful existence? Did you run away from the world you once knew and fall down in hopes of there being someone out there to  _ love _ you? Did you crawl after me with a thirst for true knowledge or were you just hoping for a  _ fuck buddy _ that fit your  _ disgusting  _ kinks?”

 

Be brave, stay DETERMINED.

 

“Flowey you know I care about you!” You finally raised your voice, but it didn’t shake Flowey of his spell. His scary face was really getting to you, your legs were now shaking so hard that there was no way to calm them down or contain them. You feared for your life… for who knew what came after death? “And…” You stammered, gasping a little bit “And I know you care about me too! I know that you want me to stay because you really care about me and… I want you to know that our feelings are mutual--”

Flowey breathed out “Wait…” His head shrinking, but his intimidating face remained true as he grimaced “Mutual  _ feelings?  _ Of what, exactly, do we have  _ mutual feelings  _ towards?”

You swallowed, your voice coming out but suddenly uncertain with yourself “We both… we care about each other, Flowey. I know it’s hard to… say aloud but we’ve showed them through um… opening up to each other about our pasts, not hiding them from one another and... sexual acts that--”

 

“Sex.” Flowey said, suddenly he smiled-- but his smile was as crooked and violent as his earlier one had been. As he spoke you took the moment to hold the cheek he had slapped again, pretty sure you were feeling the mark. 

 

“My time with you here has been for the sake of training you-- and it has come to an unfortunate conclusion that you are nothing more than a filthy freak who fell underground as another means of escape. Just. Like.  _ Chara _ .”

 

You froze, staring at him wide eyed.

Flowey smirked suddenly, his grin never having had this effect on you. You officially couldn’t tell whether you were shivering from the cold or from the disturbingly hurtful look he gave as he continued to mock and berate you “Hm? Oh… you thought that us doing that shit  _ meant something?  _ Aw~ how embarrassing… you actually… thought I had…”

His smile slipped away just for a moment, as he whispered, in your own voice  _ “Feelings.” _

 

The fact that he used your own voice against you made you completely mortified. You were suddenly sick to your stomach, and removing your hand from your cheek, you hugged yourself as a means of calming down. Take deep breaths, relax... this was the end, this was your horrible end and you deserved every bit of it…Flowey had used you, you were literally nothing more than what he had admitted to; a sex toy on his playground… hoping to train you to only need and want him.

The worst part of it was that it had worked. 

Only two days at Alphys’ lab with him and it lead to you craving Flowey, craving his affection and attention, his sexual frustration, his thoughts and feelings-- the feelings he once again claimed to not have. And this time, you were honestly questioning if he was right all along.

 

Maybe… he really  _ didn’t _ …

 

**_No._ **

 

You refused to believe it. You choked down your need to cry as you murmured “Flowey, I’m going home. You can’t stop me… and if I have to do this alone, without you, then so be it.”

 

_ “I’m here,” _ He continued to talk in your voice, and you never felt so sick of hearing yourself in your entire life  _ “I’m here aren’t I? So you won’t be alone. So long as you come home with me, we can be together… and you’ll never have to worry about being alone ever again~” _

You silently glared at him, your fear vanished and having been replaced with anger. Never hatred, because you felt too much for him, but anger and hurt because of his betrayal.

Flowey persisted, suddenly his darkened and demonic tone returning “I don’t plan to be alone again for another 20 or so  _ fucking years _ . You think you can just get me to enjoy your  _ stupid _ presence and then leave me? You think  _ I’m  _ the toy that can be played with then tossed like trash?! Think again,  _ dipshit. _ ”

You wanted more than anything to defend yourself-- you knew that you had never meant to use him in such a way, or to make it seem like you had. You truly did gain feelings for him, and you truly did feel hurt and torn between having to go and wanting to stay… then his face went back to normal. Beady eyes, smiling face, but you couldn’t of been all the more horrified as you started to carefully back away against the wall. Right beside the bathroom door that still failed to open itself. His tendrils stretched and loomed over you, jagged, rough, and their ends sharper than you remembered them being.

 

_ “Why would you do this to me?” _ Flowey almost sounded like he was pleading, the vines all began to lower themselves, intermingling, coiling and wrapping around each other all to form one huge plant mass. From across the room where he remained sitting himself on the table top, you even assumed he was sobbing between breaths from what you could faintly hear. 

 

“This is your fault--” His voice was as deep as an ocean, wavering as if unsure of himself. He was being completely overwhelmed with emotions out of his control, and you couldn’t blame him for blaming you. “You  **DID THIS TO ME!!** I knew I couldn’t of trusted you!  **ALL** of you are the same! You filthy--  _ shitty _ humans ruining  **my ALREADY SHITTY LIFE** and leaving me behind!  **AFTER EVERYTHING I’VE DONE FOR ALL OF YOU, THIS WAS MY THANKS!!”**

 

_ “I’ll kill you.” _

 

**_“I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU.”_ **

 

**“AND I’LL START WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE THE WORST OF ALL.”**

 

“And…” He breathed out heavily, the tip of the giant vine now pressed against your stomach. You sucked in your gut as much as you could, staring at Flowey with wide eyes and hope in your soul that he would forgive you for all that you’ve put him through. All these mixed feelings, he was so overwhelmed that he didn’t know what to do without you. You were suddenly just as confused as he was, your eyes filling with tears, sweat beading along your skin, holding in your breath out of the fear that the moment you let go you’d press too hard onto the weapon he had just created, killing yourself. And… you didn’t want to die.

The moment you left, Flowey knew would be the moment he would get lost again.

And he wouldn’t let that happen.

He finished in tears, as heavy as yours were, his own the same. “And… If I can’t have you then  _ no one can.” _

 

And the giant vine pierced your stomach. 

 

It was swift, and deep, stiff unlike the other vine movements you’ve seen Flowey do before. This vine had been wrapped around in multiple others giving it the appearance of a sharp pointed spear, easily able to penetrate not just your skin but your organs as well. You choked, trying to form words as he muttered faintly  _ “S-See…? I can do it… just as you like…!” _ But instead of anything audible escaping, immediately blood rushed up and out your mouth, you wheezed and hacked up the fluids that sought out an escape route. 

Flowey breathed out heavily, like a rabid dog, even though tears were obviously falling down his anger-stricken face  **“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!!”** And he only pushed the vine further, finally the tip of the plant spear exited out your back, and you couldn’t support yourself any longer or try to hold back from him. He licked his lips, your vision failing slowly as darkness crept and swarmed your sight of him, in complete shock and trying your damned best not to look down at what he had done. “You like this--! I know you do-- you filthy  _ fuck!  _ I just… I made… another hole for you~ another… playful hole…”

You began wrapping your arms and hands desperately around the giant plant in hopes of it supporting you, only to lean heavily on it and impale yourself further. Your blood spilled, staining and tainting the giant mass of coiled tendrils, and you sighed out shakily as your body slid further down the weapon. So many things had gone wrong so fast, and the coppery taste stained your mouth, leaving a permanent replacement flavor for the honey you had once craved... And now were stick to your stomach of.

 

Literally.

 

Trying to calm your heart so that the blood didn’t completely pump out your entire system, you gripped the vine in your stomach as he kept it there, looking across the way to him and trying to ignore what he had done.  _ “It’s okay.” _ You managed almost too calmly for your own good. He blinked his beady eyes, looking around quickly as if it were someone else who had said that to him. He blinked away tears, Flowey’s face completely shocked as he took a long moment to comprehend what you were saying. You tried to focus your whole attention on him, but it was hard with your senses slowly dying out with the rest of your body. “What?”

_ “It’s…” _ You let the blood spill from your lips still, nothing but the taste and smell of copper in your senses. You were starting to get tired. Really,  _ really tired. “It’s okay. I know what I did. I’m…” _ It was hard to control your breathing, even against your will your heart raced and sent more blood to your failing organs “ _ I’m a terrible person…” _

 

He was right, this is what you made him. He couldn’t wrap his mind around emotions, and he was trying his best for you…

Without you here, who would he try for?

You gave him a goal he couldn’t easily accomplish, only to prepare to leave him again.

 

“S-See what you made me do?!” Flowey’s face was suddenly pure horror, though he still refused to remove the vines that had turned into a weapon against you. But with good reason, you hoped with your dying mind. The moment he pulled his vines away you would probably lose all your organs.

“You did this!  _ Why did you trust me?!” _ The golden flower was in a panic, distraught, in complete agony as if he were the one growing numb as the world began to dye itself in black  **“YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF, YOU… YOU MADE ME DO THIS!** Dammit…!  **DAMMIT!”**

 

**_“DONT LEAVE ME, PLEASE!!”_ **

 

**_“DONT LEAVE ME ALONE HERE!!”_ **

 

“I just--! I felt--!”

 

You smiled weakly, and it caused him to flinch. You could barely see him anymore, the darkness starting to crawl its way around your sight, giving you tunnel vision that only focused on his panicked and grief stricken face as you muttered  _ “No regrets.” _

And finally the world went dark.

 

* * *

 

And your soul started to crack.

 

Within the darkness your soul pumped and fluctuated like a strobe light. Beating to the rhythm of your heart, the colors forever changing because you felt that, maybe, it was because you were unsure of yourself.

 

Maybe...

 

_ B̵͙̫̫̭̯̉̿́̀͐̇̍ͅͅư̸̫̥̯̪̘̮͉͊̔͊͌̋͝t̸̼̯̻͎͕̺̮̅͂̾̎̓͒͝ ̸̺̻̪̳͖̝̜͗̉̽̽̒͘͝ÿ̶͖̤͓̳͕͚̜́̇͒̅̓̓̎ǭ̶̗̦̱̝͉̺͛̉̄͂̉͠u̶͙̱̤͔͓̜̓͗̒̂̂̉̚͜ ̶̥̳̝̩͉͓̆͐́͒̑͊͝ͅw̷̩̘͓̗̼͇͎͑̔̀̍̌͐̚e̷̙̹̭͙͕͕͕̓͑̆̍̈́̌͝r̴̮̲̝͍̗̥̪̃͛̐̂̀͌̒é̷͉̲̱̭̞̹̓͛́͂̏͗ͅ ̵̡̬͔̤͈̳͇̌́̂͐͝͝͝ẁ̶̟͉͕̩̝̻̜̒̌͋͛̒͘r̶̢̪͎̪̘͇͆̉̈́̉̉̚͝ͅo̴̧̮̭̞̬͖̝͒̌̊̓͌͛̆n̷̢̢̼̣͓̭̲͋̋́̔̄͛̕g̶̻̖̞̖̹̼͕̐͒͆̓̀͘͝,̸͇͈̟͍͍̠̲͐̌̀̾̒̈̊ ̶̨̛̖͚̞̤̱̟́͆͂̏̒͝o̸͚̻̦͕͓̖̻͑̿́͊͑͘͠f̸͎͈͚͍̩̱͙͑͑̽͑͛́̐ ̸̢̬̙̳̥̤̰̉̔̾̃͐̓̕c̶͙̩̭̠̯̦̤͂͐̿̅͋̽̚ọ̵̝̦͖̙͉̭͒́̌̀̏̚͝u̵̮̤̱̯̫̜͒̈̒̓̓̒̂͜r̷̨̟̖͕̫̥̓̂̓̈̌̃̕͜ś̶̡̡̟̤͈̼͂̾̑̿͛͑ͅe̵̢̡̗̭̗͙̥͗͂̐̀͐̕̕.̴͓̜̹̻̩̺̖͊̌̓̅̑̆̋ ̸͍̼̱̣̻̐̈̑̂́͝͠ͅͅ _

 

You knew yourself better than anyone else did.

 

**_“̴̡̢̨̞̲̳͇͙̲͓̖̺̪̥̠̝̙̜̈́͗̓̇̿̏͋̈̇͒̆͒̀̈́͐̕̚D̴̢̰̝̺̘̯̲̠̘̻̫̙̯̳͛̇́̈́̿̾͋̒̍̍̆̈́̍̋̀̇͜͜ǫ̶̨̠͕̘͉̮͉̱̮̫͎͍̗͍̈́̽̓͒́͒̽͗̆́̓͛̃̋̏̋͝ǹ̴̢̨̛̙͇̦̼̟̥̼̰̣̦̜̞͎̘̲̹̋̐̈́̃͑͒̾́͋͆́̈́͗̓̈́’̶̡̨̡̡͉̝̜͖͈͖͙̼͎̺̗̰̭̊̓̽̾͊̀̆́̅̓̈͑̓̔̿̒ẗ̶̨̡̫̟͇̹̰͖͚̦̟̗͙͙͍́̀̿̀̇̒̓̈́̇̿̔̈͒͑̋́͜͝ ̴̡̧̛̲̯̫͍̲͇͖̥̩̫͉͍̳̈́̓̿̓̀̊̇̇͐͑̎́̋̕͝͝͝ͅl̵̡̰͎͎̣̬̺͍̰̙̪̪̞̬̱̈́̐͐̀̎̿̈͛͒̐̔̈́̊̏̚͘̚͜͠e̵̼̮̯̩͎͈̥͈̙̖͈͍̹̫̹̫̎̌̿͗̄͗͋͊̇̈̀͛̑̎͘͜͝͠͝ͅạ̴̛̪̬̜͚̼̖̞͈̬͉͙̪̜͎̥͔̑̏̽͊͊̄͐͊̈́̄̆̏̀̎ͅṽ̵̛̛͍̭̤̻̗̫̱̞̞̦̣̙̝̽̑̿͌́̓̃͑͑͐̒͊͛͜͜͠ͅͅͅe̵̙̰͙͍̪͍̤͇͈̘̖͓̯̱̠̬͐̃̄͐͊̀̅̈́͊͑̃̀̀͋̅̑͗̕ͅ ̸̨̖̱̠͎͔̘̪̻̙̼̗̯͈͎̥̂̈́̑̓̆̈́̎̿̎̉̌̌̒̿̅̊̆͘͜͜m̷̨̢̨̨̢͇̜̹̟̮̲̗̦̱̪͉̔͛̈́́̆̒̈́̃̔́̑̐̔̇͌̃̋̃ë̸̛̙̙͙̟͇̖̹̣̥̹̣͖͎̞̹̘̍̃̍̈́͊͐̐̏̀̏̐̉̈̃͘̕ ̵̨̟͉̲͉̭̬̬͕̣̞̩̫̮͚̏̈́̈͑̿̓̅̍́̈̆͊͊́̃̚͜h̴͚̪̜͎͍͔̗͖̦̩̰̙̳̩̗̭̅́͛͆̈́̔̂̉̈́͐͗̎̚͝͝͠͠ͅͅȩ̵̨̨̻̟̪̰͚̯̮̩͓̬͔̪͂̿̈́́͒̊̂̐͒̽͒̚̕̕͜͝͝͠r̸̨̧̡̮̞͙͔͍̹̰͍͈͙̬̳̼̿͆̽͋̓̎͂͐̔̾̈́͌̅̀̏ȩ̶̡̞̪̫̠̝͕̙͔̬͚̤̠͍̳͗̍̌̿̎͑͆̀͊̎̍̅̆̏͊̀͜͝!̵̢̧̟̪̰̜̟̮̖̬͓̺̜̜̖̮̙̄̎͗̀̈́̍͒͗͐̽̾̐̎̈́͘͝͠”̷̢̛̖͎̰̰̫̰̣͖̘͖͉̯̼̱̔̿̐̎̔̀̿̂̂̅̅̾͌̑̊́͜͜ͅ_ **

 

Was it possible to be, everything at once?

 

_ T̷o̷ ̸b̶e̸ ̷p̸a̴t̶i̵e̵n̴t̶,̸ ̸k̶i̸n̶d̴,̶ ̷a̶n̵d̵ ̸b̷r̸a̷v̶e̶… _

 

_ ̶T̷o̸ ̴s̶e̷e̵k̷ ̴j̶u̶s̸t̸i̶c̶e̷,̶ ̵t̷o̷ ̷p̷e̷r̷s̷e̸v̶e̴r̴e̵,̶ ̴t̸o̸ ̴h̵a̷v̵e̴ ̴i̷n̵t̴e̷g̸r̴i̴t̶y̸… _

 

_ ̵T̸o̵ ̷b̸e̵ ̸ _ **_D̷E̵T̷E̵R̷M̴I̷N̴E̴D̵_ ** _ …̷ _

 

Your soul cracked as it raced, it moved so fast that it took on the appearance of a light blur in the midst of nothingness. So fast that it only appeared as an orb of light in the darkness of your dying mind. A white bulb struggling to contain the power within it, hanging on and using its last bit of energy to light of the slowly dying world.

 

**_“̴̨̧̛̰͙̤̫̠̗͈͕̺̺̤͕͓̒̑̑͗͛̎̽̈́̆̄̈́̆̈̐͜͝ͅS̵̱̤̻͔̫̱̯̝̞̮̦̘͔͇͓͈̑̈́͂͊̔̇͂̾̈́́͊̀̍̐͗̌̊͆T̸̡̛̜̼͚͖̲͖̠͍̮̞̩͎̮̰͓͉̄̓́̉̍͑̍̀͆͒̓͑͂̑̕̚Ȁ̵̡̢̯͚̗͈̖̤̩͓̫͖͚̲̳͇̼͊̈̑͋̊́̌́͛̀̆́̅̚̚͜͝͝Ỳ̴̡̡͉̲̟̰̥͙̹̳͇̳̼̳͚̳͒͊̅̐͗̋̈́̀̉̈́̇̈͌͂̍͘ ̵̛̛̛̜̬̥̭̼̭̤͍̳̪̖̱̠͉͓͚̟̰̀̓̇̒̄̉͋̍͌͐̉͋͘͝͝W̸̡̨͖̝͕͈̖̠̤͖͈̣̫̙̱͂͌̈́͆̄̒̍̂̀͐̐̏́̀̕͜͜͠͝İ̴̡̨̻̠̰̘͍͈̤͎̳̬̫̦͉̣͈̈́̆̍̀̉̃̎͋͛͊͒̎̅͑̅͘͠T̵̨̢̗̠̦̣͎̙̤͍̲͕̠̦̫̠͊̊̑͑̇̾̿̾̌͒̋̀̌̈̚͜H̵̢̛̠̪̲͉̠̦̺͖͉͔̣̼̤͓͍̥́͊͑̓̑͑̀̇̋̅̈́̈́̔̈́͒͠ ̵̢̜̞̯̠̦̟̰̰̻̰̼̟͍̗̮͙̓̈̒̈́̅̽́͋̽̿̔̍̆͆̋͘͜M̴̨̧̛̥̥̯͚͉̣̟̳̬̯͖̖̰̼̾̈́̂͆̂͑̃̈́̍̍̃̋̾͑̃͘̕͜E̵̢̡̡͇͇̭͔͖̳̼̱̗̫̯̞̣̞̞̔̈́̏͑͂͒̂͌͒̏̎͗͌͌̚͠!̵̢̢̢̜͈̗̲͖̺̜̥̰̯̳̗͎̳͋̏̆͑͗̉̈̌̏̂̎̍̈̆͘͜͝͝͠!̸̧̬̞̝̺̯̰̗̥̭̲̩̪͇͖̙̔̈́͆̍̾̌͆̑̇̓͛́̔̂̕̕͝!̶̡̨̢̗̣̠͕̱̫̗͇̠̗̞͙̦̇̐̊̒͐̔̾̐̈́͆͌̽͑̿͛͋̀̕ͅ”̶̢̡͎̲̣͕͉͚̲̭̥̥̖̝͇̠̠̀͂̃̋͂͒̌̈͒̐͑͑́̕͠͠ͅ_ **

 

And then finally, your soul started to breath and shatter, crackling, the pieces began to fall around you as you danced in the dark. With no body, with no mind, just your frail and breaking soul danced along with the other soul that seemed to join you. A color your brain was slowly unsure of, a color you were slowly deeming as unfamiliar.

 

But then… something peculiar happened.

 

As your soul began to break, as your body began to die, as it happily accepted its end and ignored the other that moved to your rhythm-

 

It refused.

 

Your soul refused to give up on you, and suddenly you had a change of heart.

 

_ You refused. _

 

Because  Í̴̢̟͈̞͖̀̋̾̋ ̷̙̤͖͕̜̀͆̓̈́̓ ̷̧̞̩̬̊̽̊́͝ͅẃ̷̵̸̧̛͍̜͎̝̝̹̣͖̙̓̄̍̿̃̄̋͝ ̸̵̶̢̘̦̥̯̙͕̩̖̖̈́͊̑̆̉̆͛̾̈̚ŏ̴̵̶̡͕̭̫͓̳̝̫͚̒̃͊̈́̊͑͑͆̚͜ ̴̸̵̘̦̞̙̗̻̳̮̲̱̓̆̅̈́̅̿̕͝͝͠ų̴̵̷̼̜̥͈͔̗͔͚̜͒͆̄͂̓̀͊͆̏̚ ̶̵̸̨͈̻̘̺̯͓͖̳͗̄̈́̐̋̃̄̃̃̚ͅl̵ ̶d̷ ̶n̴ ̸ ̴’̵t̴   l̵̂̈̔͑͝ ̷̿̾̈͐͝è̸̅̐̐͋ ̵͑̂͐̃͝t̵͛͋̀̑͠ ̵̄̌́̍͠  i̴̡̛̳̣͕̮̿͂̏̉ ̴̧̤̥̩̝̎̓́͑̿ť̸̛͉̪̜̲̙̋̆͘ ̵̡͕̝̭̭̀̈́̈͋̑ ̴̰͔̞͔̥̒͊͑̔͆.̵̢̼̹͎̃̂̀͌̃͜

 

* * *

 

What he couldn’t waste time in informing you because  _ you weren’t the main character in this tale,  _ well, it wasn’t the best lie he could come up with-- there have been better.

There were things he didn’t care to explain because he didn’t know how, there was never someone that needed to know, there was never someone like you… like Frisk…

There was never someone like Chara.

And as your mind wandered in its deep slumber, you finally did your best to remind yourself of the things he told you to not concern yourself with. Alternate timelines, alternate universes, the ability to SAVE, RESET…

It just took  _ determination _ ...

And as you slowly opened your eyes to your second chance, you realized something rather funny. And you chuckled under your breath as you stared up at the fuzzy ceiling. 

 

Whatever you thought of was gone now, but the humor still remained as the smile was stuck on your lips. It was weak, and your vision danced along the dark ceiling trying to find some spot of focus, but when your vision finally started to clear, suddenly everything was brought into attention. The familiar ceiling of Alphys’ lab, and the familiar comfort of the old and sneeze-attracting bed.

 

You were alive…

 

And too weak to sneeze...

 

But you  _ refused _ to die.

 

There was a thudding not too far from where you were, and you carefully turned your head in the direction of the sound. Hearing the repetitive knocking made you try and focus a bit more, your sight like a camera lens trying to focus on the blurry world surrounding you. The knock sounded so far away as if you were in a cave and hearing its echo bounce off the walls, everything around you sounded like it were under water and you were possibly drowning. But finally in the dark of the room you spotted it; a yellow blob banging itself against the wall, sitting on a brown blob that creaked with its motions. It took you some time, and a few moments of blinking, before you finally recognized it as Flowey. And the noises began to rise.

His face was hidden from you, broken pieces of the flower pot he was once in shattered beneath the chair he sat on, as well as covered in the dirt that had once been within said vase. All he was doing was banging his head against the wall, roughly, harshly, and what sounded like a distant and light thud moments ago now sounded more like intense slamming-- almost painful enough to make you cringe. He was literally slamming his head so hard into the wall that you could surely calculate him trying to bring himself into a concussed state.

You didn’t want to talk to him yet, you didn’t want to mention you were alive-- out of the small hint of fear that he would try something again. 

 

He had snapped, he tried to  _ kill you, _ and the last thing you needed was for him to try again and this time be successful.

 

Lifting yourself up as carefully as you could in the bed, you realized it was more difficult to do that without making a fuss. He had impaled your stomach, after all... so the feeling was still there-- that stinging and painful sensation that surged through your nerves to remind you of what had happened. Your pant-shorts were still on, but you were completely topless other than the wrapped bandage around all of your torso from the stomach to your neck. Dry blood covered the area mainly around your abdomen, however it also covered the bed sheets beneath you as you peeked underneath.

You let out a shaky breath, the sight was unimaginable… and unbelievable. It all felt like a dream, this felt completely strange and abnormal. You touched your stomach for reassurance and, sure enough, it felt sensitive to the touch but the gaping hole Flowey had created was completely gone as if it had never happened. Magic was far too strange…

 

And your soul far too powerful.

Flowey lashed out at you and then healed you as if it had all never happened, however once again you were at a loss for how long you had been out of it.

 

_ “K̡͈̩͙͈͕̣̗͙̒͗͌̓̐͒̕̕͝͝ͅḯ̛̬̜̫̺̹̞͈͓́͂͂͒͛́͘͝ͅͅl͉̘̰̙͖̗͈̰̜̻͑̋̃̓̂̑͑̈̕̚l̛͇̳͈̩̠̥͕͔̟̙̃̽̽̅̏̍̚̕̕ ̨̝̘͔̯̱̮̝̰̘͆̀̋͗̑̈̔̈́̑͝m̨̻̙̙͇͖̹̱̩̥̔̇̉̎̈́̇́̑͒̕e͙͚̮̟̩̺̲͍͙̤̅̔̃̾̇͗̀̄̕͠.” _

 

You heard Flowey breathe out across the way, before slamming his head again into the wall.

“Flowey--” You found your voice, but not in time as he repeated his action, slamming his head again into the wall, mumbling tiredly but groaning it out almost through clenched teeth. 

 

_               “̧̢̖̱͎͙̹̯̅͋̃̈͋͌͋̆Ķ̨̛̣̦̹̩͉̤̈́̈́̔̈́̀̉̾ ͙̜̞̭̝̻̼̉́́̂͘͜͝͝͠Ḯ̧̧͍̜̜̯̣̾̀́̌̒̐́ͅ ̲̗̮͎̳̺̖͖̎́̔͐͂͐̕͠L̤̤̙̘̬͖͔̞̍̀͒̆̑̏͘͠ ̤̰̪͇̘̣̯̹̀̀̉͂̆͛̚͠L̡̺̻̖̜̙̠̺͂̍̒̉̃͗̄̚ ̩̝̩̖͙̻͖̞͑̔̑̒͂͗̈͝ ̢̭͓͈̙̙̳̒̂̓͑̃̋̿͝ͅM̢͚̲̞͈̹̯̙̃̓͆̑̉́̕̚ ̼̪̩̹͈̮̯͐̑̽͗̅̿̕̕͜Ȅ̻͍̙̪̪̫̖̉̑̒̿̅̾͝ͅ ̡̼̱͎͓̹̫̳̏͌̾̉̔̌͊͗.̩̟̞̪̖̦̗̥̒̄̌̌͑̌͊͝”͔̼̞͙̲̦͎̈́̒̔͒̊̐̔̚͜ _

 

“Flowey, stop.” You wanted more than anything to get up from the bed and march right over to him, but at the moment you couldn’t. All you could do was watch as he hurt himself repeatedly for the sake of, well, probably regretting his actions. For a guy who lived on the words of  _ “live with no regrets” _ , he sure found himself doing a lot of that.

Another slam into the wall, and you finally rose your voice, definitely taking a mental note that you probably sounded like you were scolding him at this point “Flowey! That’s enough! Now stop it-- you’re--” You had to admit it, and you did “You’re scaring me…”

 

Of course you were afraid, but it wasn’t of death… not anymore.

You knew what came after death because, well, you weren’t ready to die yet. It didn’t matter how often he killed you if your soul proved to not want to die. You would come back.

From this moment forward, you would always come back. Because you were too determined.

So even as Flowey slowly turned his head in your direction, cracked and broken faced as if he were a porcelain mannequin tossed away in the garbage, you stared him down to the best of your weakened ability. Of course you were afraid right now, and in this moment… but were you afraid of dying? No. Just of Flowey getting upset again.

“I’m...    _ s c a r i n g _   you?” He asked softly, meekly, his roots helping him crawl down the chair he was once sitting in, and over towards the bed. He wobbled, dragging himself carefully, almost like a haunted doll. Your body tensed, and he continued with his broken stare “All the more reason for me to die, right?”

“You won’t die while I’m around.” You said hoarsely, and he snorted back rather quickly  _ “But you’ll die while I am~” _

Those words made you go quiet, and you looked away with a soft sigh. He grunted at your lack of a response, even as he slowly climbed up on top of the bed so that he could face you and stare more closely, but you carefully stretched out your arms to pull him down to your chest, hugging him the best you could. Gently, but securely, making sure he was held there and unable to escape your hold. Of course you were still afraid, afraid that all this would result in were your reaching close to death once more, and having to feel it. Feeling that intense pain was so unreal and nightmarish that the thought made you shudder… but you held him anyway…

 

“You’re alive not because of me…” Flowey managed, squirming against your hold for a moment before giving up after realizing you weren’t letting go “You’re… alive because you were determined…”

He returned to being silent, but he mumbled into your chest again “I can’t stay down here anymore… I’m going  _ insane _ …  _ please, let me die.” _

“You’re stronger than this,” You replied “You’re stronger than anyone I know. You are the strongest person ever, Flowey… and if all it takes to keep your sanity in check is for you to hurt me then so be it.”

“I don’t want to hurt you! You  **S H I T !** ” He hissed harshly, squirming to try and break away, but you held on. Flowey yelled out “I’m trying! Okay?! I’m fucking--  _ trying! _ I’m doing everything I can to just…!”

“I know…” You assured him with a small smile.

**“No you don’t!”** He definitely started to do something to your chest, you didn’t pay it any mind, but it was an uncomfortable and stinging feeling, like someone with long claws scratching and trying to burrow into your body. But you held on as he continued to throw his tantrum. “You don’t know anything! You know  **_NOTHING!_ ** Nothing about me or what I--”

 

It was probably the realization that you  _ did  _ know that made him go quiet so quickly.

 

Still holding onto him as he finally calmed down in your embrace, he then lightly nuzzled your chest, and you closed your eyes again as your body grew less tense and more loose. Flowey whimpered “I don't understand… why are you being so nice to me? After… all I’ve put you through and all I’ve done I don’t… what’s up with people like you being so… nice… don’t you see it only gets you hurt?”

You wondered over this, understanding fully well that Flowey was right. Love hurts.

 

_ You remembered the other soul that wouldn’t let you die. _

 

“I don’t know…” You suddenly hummed thoughtfully, focusing on the ceiling again and finally managing a smile “Everytime I get hurt I seem to heal… it’s as if I got powers when I fell down here, or something.”

You snickered, and all Flowey could do was groan “Your jokes are corny, fuck you.” 

Though he lifted up a bit against your chest, making sure to move his head into your line of sight. You watched him as he began to heal himself, a gentle golden light mending the tears and wounds of his face and petals as he looked to you with wide beady eyes “I’m…  _ sorry, _ okay? I know that… it’s no excuse. Maybe an apology will never be enough… things could have been… worse… a-and I don’t want to… regret losing you.”

You shrugged it off as much as a human who was close to death could shrug off a psychotic plant “Then don’t regret it.”

“But…” Flowey returned to his original plan, trying to convince you to stay with him “Please… see? See what… you made me do? See what… What I almost did? You can’t leave me… you can’t just fall down here and make me… like this and then leave!”

“What are you like, Flowey?” You pushed, looking directly into his eyes as you did your best to get something out of him… anything “Flowey… what do you think I turned you into? What do you mean by ‘like this’?”

He hesitated, looking down before slowly crawling himself down your body only to sit on your abdomen. If he were an actual person, it would’ve hurt like hell and you probably would have punched or shoved him off. But it felt almost like a gentle weight of air sat on you-- like a pillow.

“Nothing in particular.” He failed to confess and you pouted at this, he only smirked, probably realizing your hope for something more.

But in the silence as you two stared at eachother, you realized there was definitely something else going on. There was something bigger, than both of you… and than any of this.

 

You managed “Flowey… whose the main character?”

“When you were slowly dying, what did you feel? Do you remember?” He asked his own question, arching an invisible brow at you as you tried to think about the dark you felt as your mind started to pull away.

“How determined were you to live?” Flowey added to the question after realizing you were taking so long with the others “Did you see it? Did you see a light--”

“No.” You finally managed with a light breath, and almost instantly he looked unimpressed. His stare had shifted, and he blinked out of his trance and looked away from you. You continued “I didn’t… see anything but my soul… my soul was slowly breaking down, but… I just remember feeling something else there-- someone else was there with me…”

This caused Flowey to look back to you, but now his facial expression showed confusion. You mentioned “I think I was ready to give up… I was ready to let go but-- someone wouldn’t let me.”

 

You smiled “I guess someone else was more determined to help me live than I was.”

You nudged Flowey then, though his eyes were wide as he looked at you. He snorted “That’s strange. You can only SAVE and RESET if you are the most determined… and for years it’s only been Frisk.”

 

You tilted your head at this, and he continued “Chara fell first, they were the first human child to fall into the underground and their soul basked in DETERMINATION. Humans all are capable of wielding it, they are naturally born with determination but Chara… well… Chara had a bit extra.”

You figured it was best for you to loosen up even more, relaxing into the bed, practically melting into it as you listened to Flowey’s story. You barely even thought about your journal as he continued “There was no other like them… not until Frisk, the 8th child to fall down here… showed up and was almost the exact same. That’s, well, that’s how I think I mistook Frisk for Chara back then. Because their souls radiated the exact same determination… and my power to SAVE and RESET had vanished, because Frisk came… and was more determined than me.”

“That only proved that, well, you need more determination than the last in order to wield such power of control… to control all of time, space, and basically make the laws of the universe bow in the palm of your…” He had curled his leaf up, looking down at it, before letting it loose “Palm of your hand.”

“Frisk, for years since the monsters got out of the underground, has been the only one to manipulate the earth like it’s one huge videogame. And they promised to never reset.”

Suddenly your mind was trying to click everything together. Frisk deemed it dangerous to go down underground with Flowey because he was unstable, and because if anything were to happen to you… they couldn’t SAVE you, because they wouldn’t know. A power Frisk weilded but never told anyone, a power apparently very few knew about. Controlling time with SAVE’s and RESET’s. You pondered aloud “So, do you think Frisk is the main character?”

 

“No.” Flowey shook his head, giving a surprisingly warm smile to you “I think you are… but… there’s another character in this tale who doesn’t want you to die just yet.”

“Frisk?”

“Frisk can’t SAVE you against things they don’t know about,” Flowey shook his head once more “It wouldn’t make sense that they can just  _ feel  _ you died and SAVE you. If it were… then…” His words trailed off thoughtfully, before he sighed under his breath, stretching his roots over your abdomen and letting light carefully pulse through his body and onto you. Your aching and sore stomach slowly began to feel much better, not fully, but enough.

 

“I’ve felt… love before…” Flowey suddenly commented, looking down at your stomach almost as if he were in a trance. He watched the golden light pulse in your belly “It’s been so long though that… it’s unfamiliar to me. I can’t seem to truly feel anything…”

“You feel remorse, regret…” You defended him as you always have “You feel… heartache. You thought you killed me and quickly started to heal me up, even without knowing whether I’d died or not. That’s what feelings are, even if they’re faint, they remain true.”

He smiled “I guess.” And slowly the light faded from your body, you felt completely better then. Almost fully healed other than the sore aftermath of everything you had been through. You shake your head, reaching out towards him and sitting up better in the bed so you could see him, he now adjusted himself to simply root on your lap, his roots crawled and clung to the blanket draped over your legs as you mumbled “Don’t think or worry about the whole…  _ love  _ thing. When the moment comes you’ll simply know. It’ll be hard to understand maybe… you’ll be so confused. But… you’ll understand what it is…”

 

Tendrils start to slide over your form, one of which press against your chest as a means of guiding you to lie back down on your back to return to your comfortable position on your bed. However the thought of being this relaxed around Flowey made you uncomfortable once again. Even with your abdomen healed, it pulsed as if it were a warning signal informing you that there was something amiss.

“I’m gonna heal you some more, ‘kay?” Flowey suddenly muttered, his tendrils and roots spread over you as they felt over your bare chest and skin, sliding over your bandages and slowly beginning to crawl their way underneath the blankets. You lift your arms lazily, before asking “Heal what? I’m completely fine now…”

“Your insides~” Flowey seemed to giggle, suddenly his melancholy mood had washed away and was replaced with, well, horny delight. You felt him brush between your legs, and you returned to sitting up. You glared at him so quickly that he literally flinched and all his roots and vines retracted like a switchblade.

 

“You impale me in the most violent and definitely NON-sexual way and now you wanna do the sexual version--” You were in so much disbelief that you were actually trying  _ not  _ to laugh “I don’t think so,  _ sweetheart.” _

Flowey grumbled, blushing deeply but quickly looking away “Don’t call me that.”

“Oh how the tables have turned...” You snickered, before playfully shoving him aside. At least trying to make it playful and not seem like you were intentionally wanting to smack him upside the head and across the  _ fucking room. _ “How about you calm your hormones and we actually get back down to business.”

He looked back at you, wide eyed. He was speechless, of course even trying to make light of the situation probably still hurt him a bit “You’re not gonna give up on this, are you? You really wanna leave... that badly?”

“Flowey…” You lowered your smile, relaxing it so that he knew you were getting more serious about all this “I can’t stay down here… you know that. And there’s no other way for me to explain myself… but, please… will you still help me? I could… really use a friend.” For some reason, that last word hurt you. And it almost looked as if it physically hurt Flowey as well. Friendzoned from probably the very first serious relationship you could have had, all for the sake of going home.

 

How badly did you want to go home?

Bad enough to still have feelings for the one who tried to kill you.

 

“Sure.” Flowey managed, a light laugh… a fake laugh. “Fine. Well… rest up and we’ll get to the basement later.”

With that said, he didn’t wait for your response. Suddenly he slid himself from the bed, crawling his way towards the escalators and letting it take him downstairs, away from you. You rubbed your arms as you thought over all these events, losing track of time, realizing probably too much for your own good. This was all the knowledge you sought, and these were the consequences.

Would anyone miss you on the surface, truly? If you were to choose to stay underground?

After having realized it, you claimed Frisk to be your only friend. But Toriel and Asgore were very accepting of you, including all of Frisk’s other members of what you’d label his monster family. Perhaps you did have more friends than you realized, but you still never considered it, it was still something new to you… to have friends.

 

But almost too easily you considered Flowey your friend, even after all he’d done to you.

After hurting you…

 

…

 

Were you the main character in a love story or tragedy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > _“Why did you trust me~ Oh~ With something so precious~?”_  
>  > _“Why did you love me~ Oh~ I’m sorry I’m reckless~!”_
> 
> > _“Why did you?”_
> 
> > that awkward moment when someone kills you and says "sorry lol" and you go "no problem :D "  
> > i was warned that posting too quickly makes people think I'm shitting it all out as I go and not planning it well enough but ??? p sure i mention all the time how much I plan ahead?? I literally have the layouts ready up to chapter 25. don't hate the playa hate the game =w=


	15. But You Held On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You weren’t so determined to bring him to the surface so much anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Life has gotten busier than expected so I’m sorry for the wait.  
> > I like to be one chapter ahead before posting so I had to finish the next chapter after this before posting this one…
> 
> > Gosh I got so many critiques and comments and i love answering them all <3 thanks so much everyone, I’m glad you all are enjoying it even if it is just a little bit.

###  **Chapter Fifteen:** ** _But You Held On_**

You made the mistake of trusting him too much, with not just your body but your everything. And now, even after things had been fixed between the two of you(supposedly they had been at least) you were still rather… concerned for your safety.

It was hard to understand how your fears worked. You weren’t afraid of the aftermath, now that you realized you can easily come back from it-- but you were still afraid of the process.

After all, you had to _feel_ death before you _actually_ died. Even if you came back, it would still hurt.

Even superheroes with those regeneration powers hurt from being stabbed before healing from it all, right? So it only made sense that you would be afraid. It’s not like superheroes who are immortal rush into anything that may cause them unbearable pain. That’d be dumb.

 

The fact that you were even comparing this gift to those of a superhero made you chuckle, but as soon as you saw Flowey appear at the kitchen table, your laugh subsided and your smile had instantly dropped. You were trying your best not to show how uncomfortable you were. He had apologized for everything, he even regretted it so much that he was trying to kill himself by smashing his head into a wall for you… but for some reason… it didn’t feel like enough.

 

For some reason, the trust was just… lost.

 

Instead of tsundere Flowjo, you wound up with a yandere Flowey. And it wasn’t exactly as you had envisioned it.

 

You were doing your best to make light of the situation obviously, trying to brush it off considering it couldn’t be helped. After all, you two were stuck together underground until either you found a way out on your own or you got assistance from the surface, which was what you were hoping for now. You knew you felt something for Flowey, but now you were uncertain of those feelings _once again_ all thanks to his asshole move of stabbing your stomach. You were so certain of your feelings, and suddenly they all fell away… now you didn’t know what the two of you were, you demoted yourselves to being ‘just friends’, but even then you weren’t certain if that was an acceptable label either.

Labels were always crappy to you, it was making an assumption of someone else without knowing who or what they truly were. Hence why you had always gone by they and them, no one knew you better than yourself, and you chose to keep it that way.

 

Positive… think _positive…_

 

Well one thing was certain, Flowey could kill you as much as he’d like but you’d either survive or he’d go the distance to heal you. So even if he hurt you, at least he would make up for it right?

No, that was still bad… that was the purest sign of an abusive relationship. Forgiving them for horrible actions towards you just because they make up for it later. You couldn’t believe your mind for trying to make excuses for him but…

It was Flowey… he was stuck here all alone, you lead him on, right? And he had this terrified fear of being left alone again. He probably could have survived if you had never showed up to begin with, being used to the loneliness like you were on the surface but… the moment you came along, the moment you two became close… was the moment he realized he could never survive being alone again.

 

Were you a freak for being horribly attracted to a flower? Yes.

 

Even more freaky for making excuses for his violent behavior? Even more so, yes.

 

As he sat on top of the kitchen table in his makeshift flower pot (with no more good dirt available and no other pots around, you had to run out into Hotland to grab a bunch of the dry dirt and put it into a bowl, then wet it down heavily just so that it was healthier for Flowey to sit in), he had his vines stretched out to reach and maneuver around the kitchen in order to, once again, make the two of you instant noodles. You two had been at Alphys’ lab of course for about three days time according to Flowey, so three days worth of instant noodles was starting to take its toll. You craved something else, but there was nothing available other than the leftovers that still remained in your backpack. Thankfully (and shockingly) they didn’t need to be refrigerated. You had been savoring them however, taking rare few nibbles out of the cookie and pie, but not wanting to eat them completely. Emergency rations, in case the two of you wound up stuck or trapped and in need of something to eat.

Or in case Flowey ditched you and you needed something to feed yourself.

Not that Flowey actually needed to eat real food anyway, you were certain he mostly ate out of a force of habit, or just because he enjoyed the tastes.

 

After yesterday’s events, today was a rather quiet and ‘no touchy’ kind of day. Flowey’s sexual cravings probably hadn’t subsided, but he was at least respecting you wanting space and not putting any moves on you. However, it lead to him also not starting any sort of conversation, unless you did. You could greet him, give a random or small chit chat, and it would go on back and forth until he decided to not respond anymore and that would be it. For all you knew, he was plotting something…

 

But you didn’t know.

 

As he made the noodles you figured now would be the time to prepare. Finally it was time to get a move on, and it was officially safe to assume your week was up.

If you didn’t find a way to contact Frisk, Frisk would get the wrong idea and probably charge into your apartment in search for you. And then get another wrong idea and hurry to find the broken rope hanging off the edge of the hole in Mt. Ebott.

...well, not that it was the _wrong_ idea, now you know it was the right idea and Frisk was dead serious that…

...Flowey was dangerous.

 

You were back at the second floor, checking your backpack for everything, and like in Snowdin when you suddenly found the pie and cookies, you found two packets of instant noodles. Either they had been placed discretely in your backpack while you were unconscious and healing before, or this was just recently while you had been downstairs. You smiled at this, Flowey was pretty concerned not only about your health but your departure, and whether Flowey had truly felt this way or not you probably wouldn’t know for sure.

Flowey was… complex, but probably just as complex as you.

 

_“Hm? Oh… you thought that us doing that shit meant something?”_

_“̷̛̛̛̄͊͂͛̾̈̃̓͗̈́͒̈͘͠A̴͐̾̔̅́̈̓̀͊̿͐̎̒̈́̍̓̚͝w̵̌̏́̃̅̿̆̄̑̈́̏͑̀́́͊͊̚~̵͌̔̅̃͐̂͌̀̒͆̑̐̂̊̃̎͠͠ ̴́́͋̊̅̈͒́̅̾̑̐̕͘̚͘͝͝ḧ̶̈́͗̂̔͐̄̃͊̈́͐͊͗̕͠͠͝͝ơ̵̑̒͌̏̀́̎͗́̾̒͗̑͆̀̚͝w̷̛͗̈́̐̄̑̿̆̓̏͗̅̓́̓̋͘͝ ̸̛̛̔̆͆̏͌̈́͐̾̆̋͐̔̄̂̿̕͝é̵̛̒̉̇̋͗̽̇̎̈̈́͌̈̈͊͘m̶͊̽̃̈͑̃͊̈́͊̔͗̃͋̆̇̎̎̂͑b̵̋̀̇̒͋͗͗̑͐̍̌̒̔̔̓͊̒́ä̶̾̉̊̒̌̃̂͒͑̋̄̈́͒̃͠͠r̵̛̽̓͛͐̐̈́̊̓̿̏̐̓̈̆̓́͑͠r̵̛̀̓̈́͛̄̋̓̾̂͑͆͑̀͛̌́̕͝a̶̛̓̽̂́̇̇͊̎̐̊̅͛̓̓̀̀͠͝s̸̏̆̐̽̌͂̑͗́̆̈͐̄͋͘͘͝͠s̶̛̀̈́͋̄́̽͌́̄͛̅́͛̈́̿̑͝ȋ̴̛̀͛̂̋̓̆͒̀̿́͊̀͘͘͠͠n̴̛̆̑̀̎̀̓́̿͆̇͆͂̑͋̐̕͘g̴̀̐͐̎͂̈́͗̽̐̏̐͌̃͆͆̄̽̈́͝…̴͂̂̆̇̊͗̃̈́͋́̏̽̎̒̈́̚͝͠ ̵̇̅̽̌̎̏̆͋̎̇͂̽̈́̽̉̆̚̚͝y̵̍͋͌͑̏͊͛̉̅̌͐̋͋̆͌̋̽̾͝ơ̶̛̈̉̓̈̔͆͒͗̍̒͂̽͠͝͝u̷̓͌̿̄͊̿̃͒́̓̇͗̋͛̇̀͑̇̚ ̴̒̀̈́̆̐̀̈́͛͗̃̓͗̿̔̃̕͝͝͝ä̵́̊̆̊̄̄̑̏̑̏̊͌̑̾̑̓͠͠c̵̑͋̆͛͗̀̔̈́̑̐̑̾̔̋̏͊̕͠t̵̓̊̒̀̀̐̂̀̀̈́̊̍̾́̕̕͠ǘ̴̑͊̇͒̃̊͌͒̈́̈́̚̕̚͝͝͠a̶͑̍̊̀̀͆͆̐͊̃͗͘̚̕͘̚̚̚͠ľ̸̛̊̂̇̍͒͆́̂̒̽̐̓̀̓͝l̵̆͂̈́͛͑͒͌́̾̑̈̊̊̿͘͘͝͝͝y̸͌̃̀͛̑͆͑͋̈́̓̿̾̂̅̀͝͝͝…̷̏̎̊͐́̓̀̆̎̿̇͌̀͑͗͌͘͝ ̸̀̽́͛̋͒̒́̾̑̌̀͆̍́̈̚͘͠t̵̛̽͊̀́̏̂̃͗̽̀̀̿̚̚̚̕̚h̵̊̀̈́͊̽͛̋͋̃̊̿̒̊̊͆̊̆̑ö̶́́̈́̄̐̋̑̓̋̾̊̉̉̂̅͒̀̚͝u̸̍͂̊̅̐̍́̌͋͗͊̈́̈́̌̔̿̐̒͘g̸̛̎͐̈́͑̃̃͛̍̈́̐̒͋̐̽̿͘͝͝h̷̀̈́̎̊͐̉̆͌̽̔̑̆͋́͛̀̕͝t̴͂͌̀̈́̌͗̄̓̌͒͆̆̌̆̅͘̕̕͝ ̷́̈́̂͋̍̔̏́̊͂̈́͂͑̆̀̆͠͝I̶̊̇͗̀̓̔͗̈̈́̒̿̅̃̽̍̆̕ ̷̉̾̾̋̍͂̓̇̒͒̇̋̎̍̊͗̾͘͝h̸̛̛̛̔̈́̉̆̔̆̓̈́̈́͒͂͐͊̈͛͂ã̷̍̋̃̅̋̏̌͑̋̊̋̀̀͛͆́͘͝d̴̛̐̾̀̂͑̈̈́̌̏̍̑̀̏͋̕̕͝…̸̔̃͌͛̀̓̇͛̽̊̎̉́̈͋̚͘͝͠”̴͗̿̿̋͌̇̿̃̌̃̀̀͛́͒̊́̕_

_“̴̋̅́͋̈́͊̂̍̿͐̐̐̄̍̍͐͛͝͝F̴̛̌̈́̃̇͊̌̿̃͛͋̑̓̂̒̕͝͠e̸̛̐̉̋̐̽̑̿̓̾̊͒͋̈́̀͗̀̕̕e̷̛͛̎͂̐͒͒̇̒͑͒̋́̄̕͘̕͝l̸̀̐̀̓̒͂̃͑̐́͆̋͑͌̕͘͠ḯ̵̑͋̓̋̃͆̂͐̈́̾́͛̄̆͒̆̚͝n̷̽̄̋̓̃̔̌̀̓͆̅͋͋́͗͐̔̕͝g̵̔͊̓͌̔́̆̔̍̂̿̈͒̓̋̐͝s̸̎̀̋͗̅̂͋̈́͋̉̎̈̅̇̇̄̐͠͝.̸̛͐͛̇̑̐̂͛̈́̄̀͌̈́͋̈̿̈̋”̸̌́̏̍̀͗̄̒̈͛̋̎̅̚͘͘̚_

 

But you remembered the second time you two had sex, he gave you this look of longing. Of hope. Of sadness... before demanding a kiss from you.

He… couldn’t of meant all those things, those _hurtful_ things, could he?

You were making this so complicated, over a flower for crying out loud. A flower who was neither monster or human, who lacked a soul. This was all predicted, it was expected. He warned you and gave so many warnings but you fell head over heels anyway-

At least you think you did. You weren’t sure anymore.

 

You had went back over towards the now empty shelves, since the manga and anime were probably left in a pile by the couch as they had been. There was of course nothing now, other than a couple old pieces of paper, in which you took the only two there and wandered over to the table and started to fold something. A gift to Flowey for, well, for at least not letting you starve while you’ve been down here. If anything.

Folding carefully and trying to remember your skills that you wielded as a child, you finally finished the gift after Flowey had called that the noodles were ready. And with a smile as you held the tiny paper project in your hands, you grabbed your things and laced up your boots before heading down the escalators to the main floor. Instead of everything being ready by the couch, now Flowey had simply set the bowls at the kitchen table, though he looked down at his own almost in disapproval.

 

“Thanks.” You said quickly, taking a seat across from him and setting your bag down beside your feet. Flowey didn’t respond, but you cleared your throat and simply started to eat.

You tried your best to ignore that he wasn’t eating anything, and it wasn’t until you were almost done with yours that you finally paused and spoke up “Flowey, come closer.”

“Why?” He asked so quickly that you had to hold back a wince of hurt. It made sense that these feelings were a two way street. He probably didn’t want to risk hurting you again (maybe), and he could probably sense your fear no matter how hard you were trying to hold it down. Flowey was just as uncomfortable about the situation as you were.

You forced yourself to move though, since Flowey needed an excuse to approach you and you didn’t need one for him. Well, you did have one though, but that wasn’t the point. “I made you something.” You muttered, pushing yourself away from the table and standing to your feet. You walked around to get beside Flowey then, slowly lowering yourself to his level.

He didn’t close his eyes or lean forward, nor did he pucker his lips in thinking he would receive anything intimate from you. It was back to square one.

“Here.” You mumbled with a soft smile on your lips, carefully placing the paper crown on his head. You remembered a time when you were younger that you got into origami, making so many animals, but eventually it lead you to simply making crowns. “You’re the prince of the underground, I figured you needed a proper crown.”

Flowey was trying to look up at the crown you had placed on his head, making him almost cross-eyed as he did so, and you definitely couldn’t suppress your urge to laugh at his expression. He showed his embarrassment, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink at the gesture, but it was probably the fact that your mood had changed slightly that made him also perk up a bit.

 

Suddenly Flowey posed “I’m pretty sure we agreed to _King_ Flowey, _Overlord._ So excuse yourself.”

 

You snorted “Oh right, but of course~ _oh Overlord~”_ You bowed as dramatically as you could before him, and he only posed again as he waved his leaf like a dismissing hand “That’ll do, human. At ease.”

You only laughed again, trying your best to calm down from his antics. You had to admit to yourself that this was a nice feeling, that calm and relaxed feeling that lifted your worries and concerns away, even if it was for a mere moment. You found your laughter subsiding finally, and returning to reality, you fidgeted. Flowey’s demeanor had shifted back to his old self as well, and you slowly returned to your seat across the table.

He used a tiny vine to adjust the crown on his head for a moment, making sure it was straight, but it didn’t last long. Suddenly he simply removed it and played with it between two tendrils, pushing the bowl of uneaten noodles out the way as he gazed over the gift you gave. “This isn’t a means of… trying to make me be like _him_ again, is it? I’ll… never be him… never again…”

It was like he was asking even though he knew the answer. You both knew, and you weren’t sure what to say to it. You could only imagine that as much as Flowey wanted to make a new identity for himself, there were always the wandering thoughts of Asriel Dreemurr, the prince he used to be. Perhaps he did sometimes wish to be Asriel again, or perhaps every time someone brought up something about ruling the underground… it reminded him of everything he had lost. You felt bad for triggering Flowey, you really did. But before you could say anything, his suicidal thoughts returned “I should be _fucking dead…_ ”

 

“No, you shouldn’t.” You said as quick as you could, but not in time before Flowey’s eyes surprisingly filled with tears. The two of you tried to hold back your feelings considering the events that unfolded awhile ago, but suddenly he couldn’t help himself as he blinked them away as best as he could. “Why am I like this? Why am I feeling _anything?!”_ He was almost angry at himself, the paper crown suddenly being crushed between his vines. “I’m the worst! I’m some-- some _monster_ without even BEING a monster!! This is all total shit! I’m just this… horrible… fucked up--”

Almost as if he hadn’t realized it, he let his coils unravel around the wrinkled crown you made him, and he desperately tried to fix it. To you it was just a tiny crown gift, you could make plenty more if there was more paper, but for some reason he was trying so hard to fix this tiny gift that you gave him, as if it were the only one he would ever get.

And who knew whether he was right or wrong.

Flowey sniffed, wrinkling his nonexistent nose and blinking away more stray tears “After all I’ve done… and you’re stupid enough to stay here… you’re… dumb enough to still be around me…” He looked to you across the table, and you finally realized how stiff you sat in your chair. The entire time you stared and watched his behavior, now the attention was brought to you and your body tensed.

 _“I still don’t want you to go.”_ He admitted, his eyes fixated on yours, as if forcing you to return the longing gaze. He put you in a trance, even with his small beady eyes that were beginning to redden from the tears _“I’m… lonely down here… I’m lonely and afraid. And ever since I met you, the moment I forced you to fall… I’m not sure if I can survive alone down here for another year, or even another month or… day.”_

 

“I’ll visit.” You managed quickly.

 

Finally the two of you blinked, as if his hypnotising trance had shattered and you broke free of his spell, however you gave a half-hearted promise in return. You didn’t actually know whether you would visit or not after all this, and even so, you didn’t know if you’d have a way to do it. After all you couldn't just walk in and out of the underground, so how the hell were you going to visit him?

“Tch. Don’t you get it? Moron.” Flowey set the crown down, deciding not to fiddle with it any longer “There’s no way out! Or I would have fucking left by now! How the hell do you expect-- me to fucking… believe that bullshit?!” His eyes filled with tears again, but now he expressed shame as well, turning his head to try and hide his sorrow. You could even see from across the table how much he was starting to shake from being overdosed on emotion “Why am I shaking?! I’m not afraid! So why am I like this-- this would… _dammit this would be a lot easier if I were just dead._ ”

He glared at no one in particular “Things would have been easier if I had never met you.”

 

Well, you didn’t want to announce it, but you definitely agreed.

 

Things would have been easier not only if you hadn’t met him, but if you never came down to begin with. Frisk warned you, they told you there was nothing of interest and it was dangerous and while sure there was half a lie in there(considered there were plenty of interesting things down here) they was half a truth too… Flowey was dangerous, and like Frisk said they promised Asriel and Flowey that he had to stay underground for everyone to remain safe. Flowey was unstable, and now you had witnessed it first hand.

 

You weren’t so determined to bring him to the surface so much anymore.

 

“Not sure how many times I have to… tell you this…” You managed to swallow your fear down, though it was like a knot in your throat. You were trying not to choke on it “If you were supposed to be dead then you would have been, if you were supposed to be _him_ then you would have been… but you’re here, you’re alive, and you’re Flowey. That’s as good of a sign as any that you’re your own person who’s meant to live. You have another purpose... in this _story_ of _ours.”_

He blinked at you, and you simply added “If I’m the main character, don’t you think you have a role in my story?”

Flowey breathed out, rolling his eyes “I wish you were dead too… I wish… I didn’t feel things for you. The last time I felt this frustrated and confused was when Frisk spared me…” With a heavy grunt, he practically spat at the bowl near him that was now growing cold “This is what it’s like to live in a world without love. Confusion, hopelessness… anger… being pissed off at everyone and everything and yourself…”

“But Flowey,” You persisted “You’re upset because you’re loving right now. And you’re loved right now, too. It’s hard to bear and understand and that’s probably why you’re sad… but, you should feel happy that you’re loved.”

 

“Do _you_ love me?” He looked at you in disbelief, and you could barely believe yourself. You paused, trying to think it over.

 

You were afraid of him, he tried to kill you. But as you tried to think all these thoughts over, you thought of your best friend, dancing in the stars.

 

“Do you love _me?”_ You asked back instead.

 

Flowey grunted.

 

The both of you didn’t answer the others question, and it would probably remain that way for awhile. You had plenty of doubt, as much as he had probably. But it couldn’t be helped, things took time, and now it would take even longer considering the events that unfolded for you. You were still hurting, perhaps not physically but mentally, over what had happened. And you still pondered his hurtful words… whether he felt anything at all for you or not.

 

_"̸͋́̍͊̈̔̾̎͠Ȃ̴̓̓̿̋͗̅͘͠w̸̐̎̉͒̆́̆̀͠~̴͂̋͌̀̈́͑̎͘͝ ̶̔̈̂̈́̾̅̆͌͌h̶̓́̔̈̽̀̽̎͝o̴͌̑̒̆̊̓̍̚͠w̴̛͊̅̈́̅̈̅̄̕ ̴̛̎́̅̓͆͒͗̅e̷͌̑̑͌̄̀̐͒̈́m̷͗̓͑̿̄̈̀̍͠b̴̛̾̆̈́̽̾̈́͋̕ấ̷́͑͆́̒̕͝r̷̃̊̑̑̀͛̊̆͝r̸̐͐͋̊͒͐̅͘͘ä̸́͌̄̉̏͐̋̉̂s̵̉̌͋́̍̄̒͐͠s̷͛̀͑͂̈͒̐̇͠ī̸̄͛̈́̒̈́͆͘͝n̶͊̃͌̈́̒̀̅̔̏g̶̐̈́̀̈́̅̓͂͐̚.̸̂̆̇̉̽̐̾͋͠.̸̃͂̓̐̏̅̈́̈́̒.̷͊̿̇̀̒́͗̕͝ ̴̓̐̾̃͐̆̀̽̚y̵͑̂͑͒̓̂͋̋͘ȍ̸͗̈͊͗͆͗͠͝ú̶̆͗̍̌̈́̈́̋̕ ̵͗͂̄̈́͒̔͗͝͝à̵̂̂̊͊͑͑̃̓c̶̈̄̄̏͆̂͋̇̚t̷̃̍͌̊͐̉͘͘͝ừ̸̽̿̿́̔̕͠a̶̓̒̃̆̃̄͌͠͠l̷͊̑́͋́̎̚͝͝l̸̛̿̓̇̉̿͊̏̕y̷̓͋̏́͗̀͒̏͝.̶̔̆̍̓͋̔́̓̚.̸͛̒̄̀̇̌͗͘͝.̵̏̔̇̔́̈͛̂͠ ̶̂̍͋͐͑͂̇̿̒ẗ̸̋͋̓́̋̓̄͠ĥ̷̛͌̈̏͊͊͠͝ȍ̶̌͛̅̐͂͑̑̎u̷͆̀̔̀͂͊̈́͌͘g̵̓̅͋̋̎̀̈̑͝h̶́̆̓͑̃̓͌͊̐t̴̍͐͒̑͂̓̈́͌̔ ̵̃̅̈́̍̈́͊̀̊͠I̸̓͂̈̈͑̈́̾̔̈́ ̴̀̋̃̑̐̈́̃̀͘h̸͂̀͊̓͑̉̉̈́͠a̸̋̉̅̐̐̈́̕͘͝d̸̛͂͆͋͆̆́̃͘.̴͆͐͒̈́̊͌̌̐͠.̸̛͊̾̏̅̃̓̀̚.̴̏̐̍̀͊̎̑͠͠"̵̌̿̽̃͂͋̔̓͊_

 

“When Chara came, and we became siblings and best friends, I guess I was just willing to put up with anything.”

 

Flowey was suddenly telling more of his story, his eyes closed as he delved deeper into his own thoughts, ignoring everything and everyone around him. His voice sounded distant and lost, and at this point in your journey you were finding it less and less important to take notes in your journal. This was personal, after all. Perhaps it was for the best that you didn’t write a biography for Flowey.

“Now that I think back to it, they really weren’t. I don’t think they cared for us, for my parents, or for me… comparing them to say, Papyrus… even Papyrus was a better friend, even Frisk… I remember even telling Frisk all these things, telling Frisk that… I had wished they were my best friend instead, maybe things wouldn’t turn out this way. But then again, if things were different, would I still have been able to free everyone?”

Flowey was suddenly speaking in first person, a voice unlike his own, mimicking Asriel’s with ease as if he were back to thinking through the prince’s brain. Their thoughts and memories becoming one, connecting, perhaps not conjoining, but Flowey took solace in the fact that, maybe, Asriel was never too far away. You didn’t dare correct Flowey, even if the flower was constantly mentioning wanting to keep himself and Asriel as separate entities, you didn’t want him to stop his story.

“But…” He continued “They picked on me a lot, made fun of me… Chara did things that weren’t all that swell, eventually we found out that one needed a human soul to cross the barrier, but someone would need more than just that to break it and free everyone. When we found out what else was needed, suddenly Chara had a plan… to sacrifice themselves for the sake of me getting out to help everyone else.” He scoffed lightly, his eyes looking upward towards the ceiling of the laboratory. Instead of the brown to black shades within them, however, they were faint and red “One time we mistook this recipe… it needed cups of butter, but we gathered buttercups… and it made Dad sick… Chara laughed. They thought it was funny… I thought maybe that’s just what Chara did, some monsters are like that, they laugh things off… they joke about terrible things because it’s the only way to cope… maybe they really were, maybe they weren’t… but in the end they got an idea on how to get me a human soul and help me escape… and it wasn’t pretty.”

Flowey then laughed again, shaking his head and sighing. His voice had slowly began to return to normal, and he muttered “Anyway… don’t we have something better to do? Let’s get downstairs to the true labs…” He blinked your way, then glanced at the automatic bathroom door that didn’t seem like it could budge. It didn’t open for you when you needed it the most before, so you were wondering why he was looking at the door now.

 

“Isn’t that just a busted bathroom?” You asked, though Flowey shook his head as you looked back at him, he answered simply “No. It’s just a disguise. To keep people who would visit from stepping inside, and of course she would often lock it. We’re gonna have to bust it open somehow.” He stretched his vines out, taking your now empty bowl and his still full one and simply dumping the dishes into the sink “Apparently before heading to the surface, she decided to lock the door. Though it made sense, she was many of the few that knew of my existence.”

You pieced that together rather quickly when Flowey had mentioned awhile back as to his creation. Alphys had been working with determination, thus creating Flowey.

“She probably knew I was still lurking underground, and didn’t want to grant me access. Whether she knew I was alive or not, she was probably too paranoid to move on without locking it.” He finished, though quickly added as he started to carry his dirt filled bowl across the table “Not that I can do much without human souls, not sure why she was so paranoid. She told everyone her secrets so there wasn’t much else to hide. Maybe she just didn’t want me to tamper with the power source.”

He made his way to the fake bathroom door, and just as it hadn’t done for you, it didn’t open for him either at his approach. You lifted from the kitchen table and went to join him, looking the door over. There was no knob or handle for you to open it manually. It was either electronically locked and you would have to figure out some sort of code to access it, or you had to try and bust it open by force.

“So how do you think we can get in there?” You tried to ask him in hopes of getting an idea. He was scanning his eyes over the door as if trying to hunt down the same thing you had a few seconds ago, but of course he sighed at the realization that there were no handles or knobs “Well, we can try and break it open.”

“How strong are your vines?” You snickered, though you were definitely prepared for it as you knelt down to tighten your laces on your steel-toed boots. After all, desperate times called for desperate measures. This was your only chance to contact the surface, and if this was the only way then you would break limbs to get into the basement. “You try to force it open and I’ll kick it.”

“This is gonna end fairly shitty and make us both look like morons.” Flowey admitted, knowingly, and you definitely agreed with him even though you were walking backward to create space between you and the metal door. “Well morons in front of each other, but no one else has to know, right? There has to be a weak spot somewhere.” You tried to reason, tapping the tips of your boots on the tiled flooring to prepare yourself. Flowey’s vines were already trying to budge and grip at the door as best as they could, even getting the good idea of trying to force it open from the bottom to push it upward. Which, surprisingly, was working a tad. It creaked and groaned in response, but there was a small space underneath the door that he had created, and he forced his vine to slip through even though it was trying to slam down on the plant.

 

 _“God this is really tight.”_ He muttered to himself, though you managed to hear and tried not to think too much on it.

 

“I’m gonna kick it.” You said, jogging in place. He quickly shook his head “No I can get it! Don’t kick it!”

 

“Flowey what do you want me to do?” You were too pumped now to try your boots out on something, and you were already aiming for the center of the door.

And just as soon as he opened his mouth to say something else, the door slammed down on his vine. A loud hiss and yell escaped his lungs instead, and the flower was wriggling and squirming, struggling to break free. Finally he complied with your idea and screamed out **“OKAY KICK IT! FUCKING KICK IT!!”** All the while tugging at his now trapped vine.

 

You hurried forward at full speed towards the automatic door, and lifted your foot to slam into the center.

It did absolutely nothing other than send terrible pain from the soles of your feet to your hip, and you hollered.

 

With Flowey yelling for freedom and you suddenly groveling in pain, it was the most ridiculous thing that either of you probably ever experienced.

 

If anyone were here it would be taken as some sort of comedy film about two dumbasses trying to break down an automatic metal door.

 

With plants and feet.

 

A pitiful sight, really.

 

 **_“FUCKING KICK IT AGAIN!!”_ ** Flowey screamed at you, in his pain and misery he was flailing his other tendrils and even grasping onto your body to try and pull himself out. This made you almost lose your balance since you were also hopping on one leg trying to comfort your other more pain-filled leg **“I'M NOT KICKING IT AGAIN!”**

 

This was so terribly planned out you were wondering how you two survived this far.

 

With your aching leg came a shaky idea “Flowey just lift it up a bit again and I’ll shove my toe under the door!” You had yelled this at him all the while wiggling and trying to kick his vines off of you. He hissed in defiance, probably wanting nothing more than to angrily strangle something(or someone i.e. you), but after realizing there was nothing better to do and things probably couldn’t get worse, he grunted and forced all his vines under the door. Struggling as they wriggled almost like worms, finally they budged the door and granted you some space underneath. Though with his sheer strength to hold it up for you as you shoved one steel toed boot under the crack, came loud grunts and yelling like he was unleashing the incredible hulk. Soon enough when you felt your boot was secure, you confirmed with him and he released to take a breather, and the door slammed down on your toe. You jumped in surprise and instinctively yelled “OW!” but realized that it hadn’t hurt, and your boot still remained perfectly shaped even under the crushing metal door. “ _Oh,_ that didn’t hurt. False alarm.”

“Fucking hell.” Flowey cursed under his tired breath as he retracted his sore and probably pulsing vines. He cradled the one that had been under the door, like an injured arm which, to him, it was, before looking up to you “How long can you survive this while I feel around under the door?”

“Long enough probably.” You said simply with a tired smile, watching as Flowey carefully stretched one vine through the space you provided, his tongue sticking out as he felt for something. Perhaps a switch or lever, he was mumbling something to himself you couldn’t quite make out before finally he smiled and whispered _“Bingo.”_ And a small click sounded, causing the metal door to shoot upward quick and out of sight. Almost instantly you stumbled through and fell forward, huffing as you landed on your hands and knees into the tiny room, and Flowey wobbled right after just to shut the door behind you both.

 

“There’s nothing here.” You said in defeat, though mostly due to tiredness from the struggle just to get through the door. All for naught, apparently. It was a small and empty room… small enough that you were starting to feel claustrophobic.

“It’s an elevator, dumbass.” Flowey, in a way, cheered you up before wiggling his bowl towards a panel of colorful buttons right behind you against the back wall, and he pressed a few before the entire room creaked. Your concerns at how well this ‘elevator’ had been maintained went ignored though, after a bit more creaking noises soon the machine worked and moved, sending the both of you slowly travelling downward into, what Flowey had called, the basement and the ‘real’ lab.

It was a silent travel down below, but as it went you slowly moved your backpack from your back to pull out your cracked smartphone. Seeing that the screen still barely managed to show anything, you pressed the touchpad and at least managed to get it to show a few numbers. You had Frisk’s number memorized at this point from how often you two had to discuss work, and as you dialed their cellphone and brought it to your ear you weren’t surprised that there was still no service-- however not even a dial tone rang. The first thing you wanted to do was find a way to get a signal somehow, that was what you needed more than anything; you needed a good signal.

And if all else failed, you needed another way to communicate with the surface.

 

The elevator suddenly stopped, and having not been paying attention, you almost tripped and landed back down on the floor. But you thought nothing of it, not until Flowey muttered _“Shit.”_

“What happened?” You dared to ask and looked around the elevator, Flowey made his way back towards the panel against the wall as you continued “Why’d we stop?”

 _“Must be jammed.”_ Flowey continued to mutter lowly, mostly to himself you figured, and almost too easily he was taking apart the panel and starting to work the wires with his vines. You swallowed, not appreciating that he was doing some sort of weird technical work without your knowledge or consent(or your trust in him knowing what he was doing), but you were suddenly too busy looking up at the flickering lights in the elevator to bother him. If he was bold enough to start rewiring things then by all means he knew what he was doing, right?

Well, you didn’t know, but all you could do was hope as you found yourself trying to focus back on your phone.

 

The elevator shook, and you let out a startled noise that, this time, did cause you to slip and land on your knees against the floor. With a huff, you looked towards Flowey “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I know what I’m doing!” Flowey retorted which, well, only made you more afraid. The lights stopped flickering, the elevator groaned, and suddenly it shook once more, but this time it also dropped an inch, making you and Flowey jump slightly with it.

You whimpered _“Flowey if you let me die again I swear to--”_

“You’re not gonna die, wimp.” The golden flower huffed, the elevator fell another inch again, and you yelled out **“FLOWEY!”**

“I get bored okay?” He tried to reason with you as to why he felt so sure that he knew what he was doing “I read so many books that I can probably teach even someone like _you_ the process of spacetime, relativity, quantum physics and gravity. Not to toot my own horn but I’m also pretty sure if a space shuttle were to crash land in this trash pit I’d be able to rewire its circuitry to get it working in less than five--”

His nerd gloating didn’t last long when the elevator once more jolted, causing both of you to gasp and shift with it. You were glaring one too many daggers in his direction.

“Okay well I tried.” Was all he said, his expression so dull and unamused as the events unfolded that you could barely believe what was happening. He even gave an invisible shrug of his invisible shoulders as if his monotone voice didn’t express enough how disinterested he was with his and your lives being in danger. The elevator fell another couple inches, and you made your way to a corner and pressed against the wall like it was superman ready to fly you to safety “What’s happening?! What’d you do?!”

“This thing’s old, don’t blame me okay?” Flowey rolled his eyes “I was just trying to get it to run again but I guess we really do need to check out that backup gen--”

 

His words suddenly got cut off by another more heavier shift of the large room, making his bowl rattle before the elevator dropped.

 

The two of you yelled in shock and surprise as everything began to plummet, the world around you moving so fast that it was a blur. The colors of the dark elevator all meshed into one grey blob, and almost as soon as you had cried out the elevator slammed and hit solid ground, sending you flying up a bit before once more returning to the floor with a heavy smack.

 

Your head had knocked into the wall, making your brain ache from the sudden motions, and a headache form in the side of your skull. A part of you wanted to give in then, take a nap, get some rest right then and there and not wake up for another three or four days. But then that DETERMINATION fueled you, forcing you to open your eyes and to keep going. You huffed with a weak and shaky breath, and looked around the elevator, finding your belongings across the room and hurrying to crawl and gather them up. Flowey in another corner of the elevator simply leaning back with his bowl beside himself, in a dazed like state as if he had been drugged. A bit of dirt seemed to be scattered around him, however surprisingly his bowl didn’t even crack and everything was still intact for the most part.

You checked your phone quickly, thankful for no more damage than it needed, before sighing and looking to the elevator door that was half open. It presented the darkness of the true labs to you, a strange mist-like fog seeped through the busted elevator doors and you were all too eager to move forward and experience a new area to explore. You got up and made your way to the half open metal door, bending over to make your way through, before making it to the other side. Your head still made your vision wobble for a moment, so you tried to move fairly slowly, and you stood there in waiting for not just your body to calm, but for Flowey to hopefully join you.

Sure you were weary of him, but not enough to ditch him after an elevator crash.

Having managed to recover thankfully, Flowey’s bowl followed you, you could hear it dragging against the hard tile as you both entered the dark. Only the light of the elevator lit up the main room you had entered, though it flickered due to the damage of not only the fall, but having little to no power left. It smelled of dust, old history, and sort of similar to sewer sludge. It reeked, almost like a disgusting rotting smell, and you found yourself letting out a disapproving noise before covering your nostrils _“Eugh.”_ You couldn’t help but express your distaste, skimming the room still as you both simply stood there “What’s that smell? Did something die down here?”

 

“You could say that.” Flowey remarked gently, cackling under his breath. You didn’t get the joke, but you ignored it. His voice had been somewhat groggy, probably trying to recover from the landing as you were “The whole place will smell like this, you’re gonna get used to it before we leave. Now…”

He looked down the long and dark hallway that stretched out before the both of you, squinting his eyes as he stared ahead, and you only looked to him for guidance. But even as you waited for his response as to where to go next, you mostly wondered if he was seriously considering wobbling around in that bowl full of dirt the entire time.

You weren’t so willing to offer up your body for him to use anymore, but you still had mercy.

 

“Maybe I should carry you.” You suggested, cutting off his thought process as he quickly looked back towards you in confusion “Huh? Why?”

“Do you really want to drag that bowl across the ground the entire time?” You asked your own question, before finally looking away to gaze forward down the hall “I don’t mind holding you, Flowey… but only if you want me to.”

The golden flower didn’t seem to give any sort of response, not even a faint noise to signal he was even considering the offer you gave. You wouldn’t be surprised if he rejected your help, but you persisted “Flowey I think we can put aside this awkward misunderstanding for a little while all for the sake of getting me to reach the surface, yeah?”

 

 _Awkward?_ It was more than awkward. He killed you-- but I guess in a sense that was definitely awkward in some way, shape, or form.

 

You gave Flowey a small smile, as much as you could in a dark place such as this and standing next to a killer, but apparently it was enough to sway his vote.

 _“Fine.”_ He mumbled, and you didn’t wait before kneeling in front of him to lift the bowl of dirt in your arms. Once more, as you leaned close to him, he didn’t close his eyes or prepare for any kiss. “Let’s just hurry up. I know you want to explore and run around but this isn’t the best or safest place for that.”

“Is there something down here?” You asked, figuring the only way to go now was forward. You carefully cradled him in your arms as you walked slowly down the empty and crumbling hall. The wallpaper was curling, peeling, and you could only imagine that if the lights were on they would’ve been old and yellow colored-- but they were off, and everything was washed out in a deep grey, blue, or black.

“I want to say no.” Flowey didn’t exactly reassure you, and this only made you walk more slowly as you saw a flickering and surprisingly colorful door not too far ahead “But down here you can never be too sure…”

You finally stopped as you reached the doorway, staring at the four colored door only a few steps away from you. The four panels flickered even in the darkness of the area, and even without power… meaning emergency power had been turned on “What do you mean?”

 

“Well..” Flowey didn’t look at you exactly, but it was almost as if he looked through you--

 

_Or right behind you._

 

“This is where I was born. As Flowey, the flower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Question: Who do you think the narrator is?
> 
> > Also oh my god is it possible to write too much?? ;__; 80k words in 15 chapters I think I have a problem.


	16. When Hope Was Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“KILL IT!”** Flowey finally yelled, vines bursting from his dirt as he unleashed them upon the creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > next chapters ready but imma pace myself, i just updated my other fanfic too which took a lot out of me. XD
> 
> > thank you everyone for your patience ;; glad everyones enjoying the story as much as I am.

###  **Chapter Sixteen:** ** _When Hope Was Gone_**

“Born?” You questioned immediately, though knowing fully well he wouldn’t bother to answer until he was ready. He probably did mean when Alphys had created him, but for some reason it slipped your mind. As if on cue he clicked his tongue, and you took that moment to check over your shoulder towards where he was looking at.

 

Thankfully, there was nothing behind you, so you returned your attention to Flowey.

 

“You’ll see probably.” He hummed, pretty amused at your interest before he looked away from you and towards the quad-colored door “If we stumble upon it maybe I’ll tell ya a thing or two. But anyway, let’s get back on track, shall we? We need four activation keys to insert in each slot, obviously their color coordinated, so we need a red, blue, green, and yellow key to put into each.”

“God, I thought all the puzzles were finished.” You mumbled, suddenly feeling that this whole thing was just a drag. Flowey scoffed “A few of them yes, but it’s not like I wander all over the underground. Hotland’s too hot for me to take a casual stroll in so I don’t bother. And I haven’t been down here in years, remember?”

The smell was unbearable, and you were feeling somewhat groggy and lazy having to do a hunt through the dark for some keys. But it was the only way to start the generator back up. That, and probably the only way back to the main floor since the elevator was down until further notice.

“You win some, you lose some.” Flowey sounded just as bored as you did, also letting out a small sigh of annoyance at this, before he gestured with his head “Come on, let’s get moving, the sooner we get the power on the faster we get out of this trash pit.”

The interior of the entire place reminded you of the rest of the abandoned underground, especially Snowdin, where the buildings and houses of the monsters that used to live there were run down and had revealed their true age due to time. This however felt much worse, considering the strange deathly smell that resided within as well to top off the creepy haunted house appearance. You made your way to the left of the electronic door that had to be opened, walking down the hallway and glancing at the computer monitors that hung along the walls. They weren’t active, they didn’t turn on or anything of the sort, but Flowey told you to ignore them anyway. He said “It’s not like even if they were on they’d have much helpful information for you, anyway.”

 

But that only made you all the more curious at what they could tell.

 

Entering a small room with surgical tables and sinks, you honestly didn’t know what to think about it as you made your way through. The thought of Alphys having performed surgery while at her lab made you cringe, especially because you knew her as a Scientist, even if she were a Doctor on top of that. She never mentioned her studies and what she had done while underground, and you only learned from Flowey that she had not only used DETERMINATION from human souls, but she used them on other monsters and on Flowey as well.

The fact that she had even gotten close enough to a human soul made you shudder. And then you shuddered more at the realization that Flowey had once taken human souls too.

And yet you were more than willing to bang him about 9 times, huh?

 

It made sense (at least now it did) why some of the monsters who once lived underground chose to keep their past under lock and key. Either as a means of moving on, as a means of regretting their past, or as a means of hiding something. Even Frisk, who didn’t technically live underground, chose to hide Flowey’s existence from you. With good intentions of course.

There was a doorway inside of the small medical themed room that you figured was worth browsing, and sure enough you had entered a tiny room with close to nothing in it. Of course, only a mechanical console hung and connected to the wall, and beside it on the floor there was a round grey-red orb. As you approached and knelt down to pick it up, you inspected it between your fingers, wiping away at the heavy layer of dust that coated it, and almost instantly the red shined brilliantly.

 

“Is this one of the keys?” You asked Flowey as you held it up before the both of you, who simply nodded before pointing with one of his leaves “Place it in that console, it’ll unlock a portion of the door that leads to the generator.”

You simply did as you were told, not like you had any better ideas, so you approached the device that was connected to the wall and pressed it against the appropriate slot. It fit like a glove, and as soon as it connected, wires and the sounds of machinery began to whir within, and suddenly like an eye, a red light shot open and began flickering.

“There,” Flowey sounded quite pleased “One down, three to go.”

“At least they aren’t so much as hidden… we don’t have to worry about hunting too hard for them, do we?” You questioned as you turned around and headed out the room. Now you were getting used to the smell of dust and decay, and though your senses were completely shot, you knew there was no use complaining anymore considering you’d be down here for awhile at this rate.

“I don’t know.” Flowey shrugged with his invisible shoulders as you then aimed towards leaving back down the hall from whence you came “I don’t remember where everything is either, and it’s really dark.”

“Boy~” You cooed “A flashlight sure would come in handy right about now.” That was hinting at the fact that Flowey cut your rope and basically in the process made you drop your flashlight, making it break.

He simply grunted under his breath, leading you in the opposite direction now from where you had started. Taking a right at quad-colored door(which now had a blinking red light at the front of it) you proceeded towards a door that glimmered as brightly as the red keystone you had used moments ago, symbolizing that not only were these keys needed to unlock the main door, but they were needed to unlock doors throughout the labs.

 

The door opened itself before you, letting release a small rush of old air to waft over your face, and you suppressed a cough due to holding Flowey in your arms. The last thing you wanted at the moment was to make matters between you two worse by coughing on the back of his head. Not that anything could get worse from  _ ‘trying and almost succeeding at killing you’. _

Was it wrong to keep holding onto that even as you attempted to move on from it? You even told Flowey you wanted to put aside your differences for the sake of escape, but you were still holding yourself back as much as he was.

 

Once again, you were a hypocrite.

 

You walked down another long corridor, soon enough entering into a room full of beds. All of them were the exact same size and shape, and with the same bedding draped over it. What you presumed was once white sheets were now a crusty yellow, and in the dark you could barely assume that the secondary color of choice was pink. They somewhat looked like hospital beds, but seeing so many dusty and forgotten beds made your body tingle with a fear of the unknown. That excitement of discovery, but that fear of finding out something you perhaps didn’t want to know about. After all, you already found out that not only did she watch porn with her girlfriend, but she also ditched a few copies in her own lab for the sake of keeping that a secret. So there were probably plenty of secrets left to be discovered all throughout Alphys’ lab… that should perhaps be left undiscovered.

“This is where the amalgamates stayed.” Flowey broke your quiet panic attack with his words, and you almost jumped at the sudden voice before you. He noticed and looked over his shoulder towards you, but it wasn’t for a long while until he turned his focus back to the wide and large room full of beds “Well, before they were amalgamates, at least. They were simply patients who had died.”

“Died?” You wandered between the beds with Flowey, looking them each over as you weaved your way through, as if inspecting and expecting something (or someone?) to be underneath one of them “Alphys brought dead bodies here? What’s an amalgamate?”

“Some were totally lost.” Flowey sighed dramatically as if he were an actor in a soap opera “Some were completely ash and dust, while others were close to death. Alphys was working on the  _ determination _ experiments when she requested them to be brought to her lab.”

“Were you made already?” You asked cautiously “How do you know all this stuff?”

“Technically no, I was another test, remember? I told you that.” He snickered “I just enjoy snooping about, especially because, well, when you die and then wake up as a flower? Duh. Of course I want to know how the hell that happened. Sure I didn’t do it on the first try, but I reset a few times before figuring I could snoop around a bit.” 

 

Reset… you didn’t reset, so you couldn’t even fathom how it would look to reset back to a different moment in time. For the time being you could only comprehend the power to save.

 

Flowey pointed a leaf towards the far wall at the back of the room, close to a doorway that lead into another. Like the hallways and the other room you had been in, against the wall hung a monitor of sorts whose power was out, like the rest of the building. “She kept her research as diary entries, and hung them on the wall as reminders.” Flowey commented coolly as you approached one. Stretching himself a bit closer to it, he grew a small vine just to tap at the monitors glass “This is where I found out what she did, and how I came to be. She took the dead or nearly dying bodies, as well as some DETERMINATION she extracted from a human’s soul, and injected them all with it. Suddenly, they were alive and good as new.”

You sighed with relief at this, smiling at the thought that anyone could be brought back to life with determination. Even a stray thought came to the back of your mind, the idea that perhaps… if you found her body… maybe you could--

_ “But no good deed goes unpunished~” _ Flowey suddenly cooed, and you looked down towards him. As if he knew what you were thinking of, he was already staring up at you with a rather eerie wide grin and blank eyes.

“What do you mean?” You asked quietly, and he answered quickly “After they suddenly returned to normal and were walking and talking like everything was fine and dandy, Alphys was too quick to inform the families that they would be sent home soon. Almost immediately after she did that, their skin started to melt, they were collapsing, fusing, falling apart…  _ changing… melting…  _ turning into gross hideous fucks, monstrosities if you will-”

 

You rolled your eyes. Even if you were finding these descriptions pretty disturbing and disgusting, you didn’t appreciate his attempt at making a joke in the midst of it.

 

“-and she basically fucked up so bad that she kept it a secret, and never said anything to Asgore, or to anyone else. I never knew about all that until I came back to find out what was going on down here… when I was first created, well, naturally you can imagine when you wake up in a lab the last thing you want to do is stay.”

The thoughts of how these ‘monstrosities’ would look like made you nervous.

Flowey added “They didn’t die down here though, technically they got their happy ending too. Alphys finally explained about the amalgamates and sent them back home. So they probably arrived on the surface with their families or some shit like that.”

That was even a scarier thought, even if you weren’t the type to judge for someone's appearance. The image Flowey planted in your mind on how they would look, and how they simply roamed the surface world now, made you cringe. You imagined that most of them perhaps looked like decomposing corpses, or maybe these blobby decayed masses. You shuddered at the thought. You hadn’t seen any of them in town, though. So maybe they simply moved away to another part of the world? A part of you wondered if it was safe for them to wander too far away from Alphys, who was their creator.

You decided against going through the doorway just yet, and though Flowey eyed you curiously, probably wondering why you passed it up, you kept going towards where you had spotted a hallway. Through the hall you found yourself eventually watching your reflection walking with you, behind a veil of dust that was as thick as icing on a cake. And as you walked further down, eventually you came across a long ledge that was covered in vases and flower pots, all with wilted flowers and plants within them.

 

The dirt was dry looking too, perfectly abandoned and forgotten underground.

 

“Wow, do you have some strange sense of direction?” Flowey asked in confusion “I’m surprised that instead of going through the doorway you wound up… here… but… here we are, anyway.” He finally breathed, and though you took in a light breath as well, you noticed the air felt somewhat better in here than the other places you walked through. “Is this where you were created?”

“Yup.” He mumbled, and you approached the ledge to inspect all the vases.

“Why were there so many other flowers?” You dared to ask, even wondering now if there was more than just one Flowey. Which he scoffed at your question “Well she either attempted to recreate me when I suddenly went missing, or they were failed attempts before me. I just know that I was supposedly the very first flower to sprout in Asgore’s flower garden, hence why I was considered  _ special.” _

“There was a component in you that she couldn’t simply get in another flower…” You muttered, mostly to yourself as you tried to think the experiment over in your head. Flowey nodded “Probably Asriel’s ashes. Me being the first flower, I can only imagine I sprouted thanks to the ash which, in some gardening studies, makes for good fertilizer. If I took it all, then, that only meant I had something that none of the others would.”

It made you think very deeply. The idea that Flowey was struggling to disbelieve they were Asriel, which as you thought it over, you truly did feel that they were their own person. Asriel, technically, had died long ago, whether one were to believe in reincarnation or not, Flowey was an entirely new and separate being, even if they shared traits of Asriel’s, even if they were once able to turn into him, Flowey was themselves. It was similar to, well, cloning studies. Identical DNA sure, but still a brand new individual that could never be who they once were, nor were they ever to begin with.

“I…” Flowey started then, causing you to lose your train of thought as you carefully set him down on the ledge with his, well, ‘fallen brethren’. “I mean… Asriel, needed a human soul to get through the barrier, and then he needed 8 human souls to break it and free everyone. When Chara died and their soul was taken, he transformed into this… strange half human half monster hybrid. Apparently so fierce and eerie looking that it was engraved on the Waterfall walls as some frightening beast.” Flowey gave a small chuckle, it was almost cracking “Little did anyone know that when two souls combine... they end up sharing the main body as if it were some sort of roommate situation. Chara wound up carrying their own body to the surface, just to show Asriel what humans were like.”

Flowey looked around as if they were being watched by some other presence, causing you to carefully have a look around as well before returning your attention to him. His focus was lost and distant though, though his face gazed at you, his eyes almost saw through you “They… the humans... saw this…  _ thing  _ carrying a human child so… at the time it made sense how afraid they all were. But he… never expected them to kill him. And no matter how hard Chara willed for Asriel to fight, to attack, to lash out… Asriel refused. He got control and simply returned back underground with Chara’s body still in his arms and died there.” Flowey finally cracked a fake smirk across his lips, his leaves shrugging as if dismissing the rather cruel and tragic end to Asriel’s story “And that’s… where I come in. See these dead flowers everywhere?”

You simply nodded, glancing at them so that you had an excuse to not stare at Flowey anymore. His gaze was becoming unnerving again as he continued “Like I said already, I was a side experiment of Alphys’. I guess when she got hired to be the new scientist for Asgore she figured working with his favorite flower would get her some sorta promotion or something maybe. Maybe she didn’t realize that Asriel’s ashes were all over Asgore’s garden… but I was the very first flower apparently to sprout up and grow, so I guess I’m fucking special. She studied DETERMINATION  and how it managed to keep human SOULs alive even after death, she extracted some from…” He paused and huffed “Sources…” 

 

Sources he admitted to knowing all  _ too  _ well awhile back that you didn’t want to comment on. Apparently Alphys knew them just as much, and so did Asgore.

 

But… that would never change your views on monster-kind.

 

Flowey wobbled his bowl of dirt around just so his back was facing you, he looked through the dead flowers at the mirrors that reflected you both and the room, but he didn’t seem to focus on anything, or anyone, in particular. “...and started going crazy injecting them into things. Into the dead… creating monsters, disgusting things that you’re probably smelling around here… and then suddenly she wondered  _ “What would happen if neither human nor monster contained determination?” _ and injected it into this flower… and then, one dark day, I woke up.”

Suddenly emotion captured his face, and you knew it was real. The unfeeling flower hid their gaze even from themselves, looking away and lowering their petals to hide themselves from the mirror they had faced “I was afraid, alone, confused… I yelled for help… but I was in a fucking lab, of course nobody came. I escaped, ran to  _ ‘mom’, ‘dad’, _ and I couldn’t feel a single fucking thing.”

Flowey finally, and slowly, turned himself back around to face you. However, his petals had curled up around his face to still hide his shame. You wanted to comfort him more than anything, but even as you lifted a hand to brush his petals, you hesitated. That same fear consumed you, and you held your hand back. He didn’t notice, and he finally finished. “So, I committed suicide. I didn’t want to live this life, negative vibes, negative emotions, sure I could feel a few things but were they the things I wanted? No. I died, but that’s when… the fun began. Suddenly I-”

 

A bubbly and rather putty-like noise sounded not too far above you, and you and Flowey both shot your heads up as you heard the vents overhead creak and groan. Already too used to Flowey being your partner underground, you immediately whined at the uncomfortable noises, hoping for an answer “Flowey…?”

 

“There is no good way to answer ya, sweetheart.” As if he knew what you were trying to ask.

 

What else was down there with you...?

The glob-like noises continued, suddenly through the vent bars above a grey mass pressed against and through, glop seeped through and dripped down, stretching and spilling, and you quickly snatched Flowey up and stepped out the way just in time for a larger amount of putty to fall onto the floor, in the spot you were in seconds ago.

You mentally high-fived yourself for your quick reflexes, wishing you weren’t so concerned with what was happening before you. You had felt this fear before that was all too familiar now, when you first met Flowey, when he tried to kill you, and now the fear rushed through your nerves as you could only stare as the grey and stench coated mass started to shift and form. More of it spilled from the vent above, and soon enough it was beginning to take a slimey shape. Even Flowey was cringing at the sight, but he wasn’t trying to look away as much as you were, probably too curious as to what it was turning into.

The room that once smelled like the cleanest of them all was suddenly filled with this horrifying smell of… well, decay, rot, the scent of a hospital; but more specifically, the End of Life ward at a hospital.

The glop groaned as loud and as watery as the ventilation shaft it had squeezed out of, the noises emitting from the creature as it expanded and retracted, trying to keep one shape, were confusing and unfamiliar. At this point your back was pressed to the mirror wall behind you, and you were hugging Flowey’s bowl so tightly you were wondering when it would break into pieces from your arm strength.

 

_ “̴̨̪͎̥͎͍͓̻̘͈̄͊͑̿̊̾̾̂̕͝S̴̨̛̙̪͇̩̗͙̱̰̦͆̈́́͊̂̊̿͑͘ḩ̴̙̟̥̹͙͍̻͚͓͆͌̈́̓͋͊̊̄̈́͝e̷̪̼̙̻̮̹͓̘͉̯͑̅̃̎̂̈́̓̓̓͝ ̴̨̼̱̻̫̬̪̙̰͑̉̃̒̄̈́̈̒̚͠ͅf̸̨̢̘̻͓̠̱̮͚̬̋̐̿̈͆́̒̈́͒͝o̵̗̟͙̱̖̤̰͓̗̔̒̄͌̈́̽́̑̌̕ͅr̵̨͚̥̞̗̫̹̮͔̀̑̓͂̑͐͋̎̕͘ͅg̸̨̯̫̭̗͍̫̯͖̃̇̐̂̿̽̈́͑́̕͜o̶̢̠̜̻̘̦̳̣̜̟͂͗̊͐̾̀͒͛̚͠ṱ̶̢̡̰̦͇͇̭̝̾͆̈͋̈́̀͒̚̚͝ͅ ̶̛̣̺̪͕͕̞͉̫̻͊̈́͒͆́͋̔͝͝ͅm̶̨̛͈̱͕͎̗̖̯̦͓͂͑̅̏̍̋͊́̒e̴͚̹͖̼̦̦͇͉̙̻̋̎̃̆͒̍͂͋̂̚…̵͈͈͙̱̼̥͉̰̖̏̾̈́͊̑̇̎̾̎͜͝”̷̪̼̖͔̥͎̼̫͙̻̍͑̇̐̉̓͑̄̕͘ _

 

It moaned, the creature was slowly shrinking, the grey mass was shrinking and growing thinner as if it would disappear in an instant- however suddenly it turned into the small height of, what it took shape of, a dog, and even sprouted a tail. A large gaping hole took over the face area, it wheezed through it as if it literally was a vent that contained nothing more than air flowing through, but even as the air wheezed and gasped as if having trouble breathing, soft noises and grunts escaped, a distant voice that moaned once more 

 

_ “̶͔̹͍͇͍͓͋̈̌̒̓̕S̸̯̞͚͕̯͋̄̀̄̽͝ͅh̵̛̖̩̥͕̲̱̊̈́͗̿́e̸̹̺͍̰̻̥͒̇̆̈́̑̒…̸̳̥͖͔̖̔͆́̀̽͜͠ ̶̯̩̣̤̹̻̔͒̓̿̉̚f̴̢̖͖̬̜͇͊̔̉͆̓̉o̴̙̤͇̝̜̥̊͛͒̑͝͝r̵͓͍̫̘͖̰̀͒̑͌͒̚g̷̗̟̦̭̞͖̔̆͋̆̈́̎ō̶̢̨̟̗͇͙̉̌̒̑͘t̶͕͖̗̭̗̘̀͊̈́́͌ ̷̧̨̮̫̠̹̾̽͆̒͊͋m̸̬̗̯͙̲̤̒́̈̅̒͐e̵̱̭̻̰͕̒̒̍̓̕͘͜…̶̠̣̳͔̝̻́̍̊̉̕͝”̶̧̡̞̝͎̭̈́̓̎͒͘̕ _

 

**“KILL IT!”** Flowey finally yelled, vines bursting from his dirt as he unleashed them upon the creature. Though Flowey’s sharp vines stabbed right through to the other side, the monster(?) simply stood there, still wheezing as if unaffected. But now Flowey tugged, shaking weakly at the realization that they actually touched the glop, and now their vines were stuck inside of it.  _ “Eugh…!” _

 

You attempted to speak “Um.. who forgot you?”

 

“Don’t encourage its behavior!” Flowey hissed and glared at you over his shoulder, before returning to trying to tug and pull at his vines. You held onto him tightly, especially because it felt as if he were being sucked in. Soon enough he yanked them out only for them to fly back and smack your face, leaving a disgusting and stinky grey print on your cheek.

 

_ “̶̰̗͚̍͆͂S̴̛̜̗͖̈́͂ḣ̵͕͓̗̂̚ẹ̸̢̈̎̐ͅ ̴̣̠̺͌͐͝f̶͎̤͔̅̀̒ö̸͕̝̘̋͐r̴̨̩̜͌̑̅ḡ̵̻̹̖̇̈o̷̡̢͙̊̀̌t̸̩̰̯͛̿̚ ̶̪̠̞̄̊̇m̷̟̙͖̆͌̍ë̶̬̠̜̈́̈́…̴͖͓̜̇̓͝”̶̫͈̖̏̀͝ _ It groaned again. The grey mass was slowly turning white, the hole that took over its face was still hollow, though the inside of it turned black as if it were decaying before your very eyes, and soon enough it literally looked like a tiny dog.

“It’s a fucking amalgamate.” Flowey muttered, still trying to whip the excess grey matter off of his vines, looking the dog-like creature over as it sat there. It did nothing at all, other than lower its head to the floor and sit quietly, moaning sadly to itself. Flowey added “It probably means Alphys, considering everyone else got to go home… she probably forgot about this one.”

“Were you supposed to go home?” You tried, and the dog seemed to sulk more.

“This is ridiculous,” The flower sighed heavily, in annoyance, and as loudly as possible to let you know (and probably the dog) that he was already bored and wanted to move on “It’s just an amalgamate! Let’s ditch it and keep moving! We still need three more keys to open the generator room!”

“Aw…” You pouted, still paying more attention to the putrid hound than the emotionally unstable flower “We should take it with us, since I’m heading out of here… I’m sure I can take you home.”

Flowey grimaced and gave you a shocked look  _ “What?!” _

The dog, however, lifted its head almost quickly, only repeating  _ “̷S̴h̸e̴ ̵f̴o̷r̵g̶o̷t̴ ̶m̷e̷.̶”̸ _ Even though it was clearly ecstatic about the idea. It’s voice was more clear too, only making it all the more obvious at how it felt. Suddenly standing on its four legs, the gloopy tail swayed and wagged quickly, sprinkling droplets of the grey matter everywhere. You simply chuckled and nodded “You’d like that, wouldn’t you boy!”

 

It got more excited, suddenly yelping out _“̷S̴h̸e̴ ̵f̴o̷r̵g̶o̷t̴ ̶m̷e̷!”_ And scampering its way towards you.

 

As disgusting as it smelled (and looked), you couldn’t help but envision it as an actual pet dog. Even though the creepy hole made you want to hurl, you quickly knelt down and set Flowey aside just in time for the dog-like being to tackle you. All you could really do was laugh as it covered your clothing in grey putty and that deathly stench, and where its face would be made the motions of licking you even though nothing was happening there. You wrapped your arms around it and pet its head happily as it wagged its tail; now spraying Flowey.

“This is disgusting-” Flowey grimaced and made gagging noises, he shuddered almost violently at how filthy he (and the rest of the room) was getting “I’m gonna hurl-”

“Flowey look! He likes us!” You chuckled again, lifting it up in your lap as it immediately got comfortable and nuzzled you. The longer you stayed in it, the less the smell affected you- however Flowey was having a fit trying not to regurgitate the multitudes of instant noodles he had eaten. He was seriously freaking out “This is  _ disgusting! _ Don’t just- hold it like that! You don’t even know if it’s a  _ he!  _ How can you just sit here and act okay with something covering you in that smell and that… trash!” He used his leaves then to cover where his nose would be, still staring at you and the amalgamite dog as if you two were the worst things he had ever seen in his entire life.

“It just wants to go home, just like me.” You said gently now, looking down at it as it continued to eagerly look up to you “Since we’re both headed the same way, I don’t suppose it would hurt to bring it along with us.”

You then paused “And I want it to be a boy puppy. Look, he gets excited when I call him boy!” You wrinkled your nose and made a face down at the dog “Isn’t that right boy! Isn’t that right!?” And it immediately yapped as it attempted to lick your face again with nothing in particular.

 

“It’s a dog, it gets excited at any sort of baby-talk.” Flowey said, before removing his leaves and snickering as he mimicked the baby-talk technique “Isn’t that right girly? Isn’t that right shit stain?!”

Almost on cue Flowey had proved his point, the dog shot its head over to look at Flowey, and began to run towards him in excitement. Flowey screeched in protest at the mistake he had made right as the dog tackled the bowl, sending the dirt flying and scattering along the already dirtied floor, and knocking Flowey out of his makeshift vase. You tried to hide your laughter behind your hand as the amalgamite pooch harassed a very flustered and angry Flowey, but you realized that touching your face wasn’t the best idea as you looked at the grey stains along it. You wiped it on your lab coat as you snorted “Flowey stop playing around, we have to keep moving to find the keys.”

**_“ME PLAYING AROUND?!”_ ** Flowey yelled, squirming before finally you stood up and hurried over to yank him from underneath the dog. You brought flowey to your shoulder, he was coated in the grey goop that made the amalgamate, and almost as if thankful for the rescue he wrapped his vines around your shoulder and shuddered at what he had just experienced “That… that THING tried to KILL ME!”

“It did not and you know it.” You wrinkled your nose, not very pleased with how badly Flowey smelled and was now right next to you. For a moment you forgot all about why you didn’t want Flowey sharing your shoulder… for a moment… because when the realization of what you had done dawned on you, you were almost scared all over again. Flowey glanced at you, not sure why you were staring as he kept trying to wipe the sludge away from his little flower body with his roots “What? I don’t smell that bad do I? Everything smells like corpses I think I lost my sense of smell-”

 

“Nothing.” You said quickly, then looked down at the dog who was now at your feet. With their empty face, they looked up to you expectantly. You smiled, before deciding for the time being it was better to just keep Flowey on your shoulder. He had at least proved that even if he wanted to kill you, he would bring you back, right?

 

Even if it wasn’t him.

 

“Follow me, okay?” You told the dog, unsure whether it could even understand you. It groaned out “̷S̴h̸e̴ ̵f̴o̷r̵g̶o̷t̴ ̶m̷e̷.̶” In response, which was you supposed better than nothing, and as you began to walk further down the hall to check out the open doorway at the end, you looked behind you as the dog eagerly followed. You smiled “Aw, if you look past the smell and appearance, it’s really cute.”

Flowey huffed  _ “You need to stop.” _

You chuckled and shrugged your shoulders, Flowey had gone quiet as you approached the open doorway at the end of the hall, and as you peeked inside you noticed the familiar machinery connected to the wall. However stepping inside the small room and looking around, that was it. There were no key stones anywhere in sight, and you huffed “Dammit.”

The golden flower groaned in displeasure as well “Guess that’s one we need to hunt around for then, huh?”

 

There was then a hacking noise behind you.

 

Turning around, you noticed the dog was curled up at the doorway, lurching and coughing using its nonexistent mouth. Wreching, spilling a black and grey mucus slime onto the floor before it, before suddenly out of nowhere it coughed out a round object that was sent rolling towards you, leaving a gloopy trail in its wake. You and Flowey both cringed, but as the slime dripped away from it, and the moment the object clanked against the wall space beneath the machinery, you noticed the shimmering yellow underneath.

“Oh.” You went over to it and knelt down to pick it up, all the while hearing the amalgamate dog sliding its way closer to you. As you wiped away the sludge from the keystone, you chuckled and looked to Flowey “What luck, a key stone.”

“Lucky us,” Flowey covered his nose as you tried to hold it closer to him, his head naturally leaning away and back from it “that the creepy thing ate it and threw it up. My senses are shot.”

“If we didn’t have it follow us, then we wouldn’t of found this.” You tried to make the gesture a positive one as you inserted the round orb into the slot, which as soon as you had done so it blinked a vibrant yellow light. You looked down to the dog who was happily at your feet “Thanks, boy!”

And as excited as you sounded, its tail wagged just as much.

 

Flowey snickered, swaying in a mockery of excitement “Thanks dumbass~!”

The dog’s mood didn’t change a bit. And you scoffed “Flowey don’t be an asshole.”

 

Two down, two more to go.

 

Having to move back and forth throughout the entirety of the building was getting tiring, even after only having found two. You felt less optimistic as you backtracked back to the room full of multiple beds, and you went through the open doorway that you had skipped for the sake of exploring the room full of flowers. Your legs were already getting tired, but you only presumed that to be happening due to having gotten too used to relaxing. Your day long break turned into about three days worth, leaving you sluggish and lazy no matter how hard you kept pushing yourself. At least, even in the dark and stench-filled halls of the true labs, the mood was getting somewhat lighter. As you paid more focus to your surroundings and trying to hunt down the next closest keystone, Flowey was teasing and tormenting the amalgamate that was trotting after you further back. For a flower who seemed positively mortified at its presence, he was chatting with it more than you. Whether it was mostly picking on the little guy or not, you still found it amusing that Flowey was slowly accepting it being apart of the group. It showed a lighter side of the situation at hand. Flowey was just trying to figure themselves out as much as the amalgamate probably was.

 

As much as you were.

 

You reached a room that, though small, had a pretty large machine-looking skull at the center of it. It towered over you, barely allowing much room to pass, though thankfully there was another room to your right as you faced it that was easier to head through.

“What’s this?” You wondered if Flowey knew, who finally paid you attention and looked back ahead towards the machinery. It looked exactly like a skull, a strange and rather intense looking skull, and though there was dust caked on it like everything else throughout the labs, wires connected it to the walls and to the ceiling as if it were ready and waiting to be turned on. Flowey paused as he scanned it over with his beady eyes, jutting out his bottom lip thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed then, glancing elsewhere “It’s not important.”

 

And you supposed that was that.

 

Walking into the room closest to you(and easier to access) you found an old television. On both sides of the television there were shelves, however nothing was held within. And as you discovered yet another wall mounted device waiting for a keystone rested nearby, a round sphere rested on the floor beside it.

You approached it eagerly, kneeling down to grasp it and blow off the dust. It revealed a deep blue color as you gazed over the gem “Three down, one to go.” And you looked to the amalgamate that stood at the doorway, its tail swaying excitedly. You went over to it and held out the key stone, tightly in your grip incase it attempted to eat it like it had done the previous one, and though Flowey was about to probably question what the hell you were doing, the dog-like creature made sniffing noises along the gem. Like a mucus filled nose, it snorted and huffed, before suddenly it yelped and turned around, darting out of the room and heading passed the large machine.

“What did you do?” Flowey finally dared to ask, as you returned to the device on the wall and inserted the blue orb. It glowed brightly, lighting the whole room in its blinking glory “Well, I figured since it’s a dog, maybe it could find the other one and lead us to it.”

“If the thing doesn’t  _ eat it,  _ maybe.” The flower sighed heavily as you left the room and paused. Glancing down, you noticed the goopy trail it dribbled behind as it had ran off, following it lead you back to the machine-head, only having to squeeze through to make it to the other side. In the distance and amidst the silence of the true labs, you heard a loud bark, as well as the eerie call;

 

“̴̨̯͓͓̯̮̫̙̖̟́̃͌̌͆̈́̍͒̽͝S̶̲̫̦͙͇̜͇̤͔̝͛͌̉̇̄͆̂̓͒̔h̵̛͈̫̥̩̯͍̺͔͇̰̍̄̓̒̌̏́̾̄ȩ̶̨̬͈͎̫͚̼̻̈́̾̄̆͑́̐͌̊͘͜ ̵̡̛̬̖̘͓̼̳͇̝̤̑͋̀͒͐͋͋͛̏f̴͙̗̣͉̪̱̺͎̱̈̔̀̿̃̆̚̚͘̚ͅǫ̷̡̧̻̬̟̟̗̼̊͛̈́͂̋̒̾̒̀͝ͅr̸̨̧̡̛͕̥̦̣̘̝͆̀̓͊͂̚͝͠͝ͅg̸̛͙̲̬̞͍͚̭̺̝̓̓̑̉͊̏̃̈́͜͝ơ̶̭̙̖̩̹̤̖̙̯̦̈́͊̈́̃̉̄̀͠͝ṯ̸̢͓̙̱̗̱̤̖̱̐̄̽̋̂̂̇̚͝͝ ̴̡͎͕̹̖̩̩̹̯͗̒̔̽͗̽̉̐̽̋ͅm̶̖̝̮̖̠̞͍̯̥͐̆̏͋̾͛͋͘̚͝ͅę̴̠̬̣̫͔͕̣̫̭͗̐͛̿̌̏̇͋͌̅!̴̨̯͇̫̝͈̤͈̰̘͑͋͗̀͛́̂͘͘͝”̵̛̺͓̟͕͍͕̹̻̝͕̊͂͗̐͊̍̀͛̄

 

“Looks like they found it.” You had a pretty smug grin across your lips, even knowing fully well that Flowey was staring at you with such an intense glare it could pierce your face. You made your way through the room without giving much of the refrigerators a second thought, spotting the amalgamate circulating around another grey dust covered orb, barking and repeating its seldom whispers. As soon as you entered the room, the dog immediately took notice, hurrying up to you with its tail wagging. You knelt and patted its head roughly, and quickly for the sake of wiping your hand on your labcoat “Good boy!”

Even as you approached the orb, Flowey decided to add “Who’s a dummy~? You! Who’s a doofus~? You!” Which only seemed to get the dog more hyper and proud of what they had done.

Picking it up and blowing the dust off of it a bit, the deep green color made your eyes widen, before you went to the device against the wall to press the keystone inside its slot. Then, when the room glowed with its mesmerizing green light, you turned and breathed out as if you had been holding it in this entire time “Phew, finally. Let’s hurry up and get the hell out of here.”

Not willing to just walk all the way back, you simply gestured for the amalgamate to follow your lead as you darted back to the entrance, causing a surprised noise to escape Flowey as his grip on your shoulder tightened. He hadn’t spread his roots or vines throughout your body underneath your clothing like he had done the last time he was given permission, but you could only assume it was because you technically didn’t give him permission this time.

 

But after all this, it didn’t seem too bad to…

 

No…

 

...the thoughts of being impaled on that spear-like vine just danced in your head, making you cringe. But thankfully when your mind returned to the task at hand, your body had stopped right in front of the quad-colored door. All four lights were blinking; red, green, yellow, and blue. Shimmering and letting the entire room flash with multi-colors that, if you were prone to it, probably would’ve induced some sort of seizure. Even Flowey was looking away from it, his petals curled slightly to shade his face. The amalgamate dog sat there with its head tilted curiously.

Taking another step closer, the door swung open swiftly, making your muscles tense from the sudden movement, but you didn’t wait to step through and into, what looked to be, yet another elevator. However this one was fully operational. The lights were motion-sensored, flickering on dimly the moment you stepped inside, but noting the other doorway, you went through it instead of riding the elevator up. After all, you needed to turn on the generator.

“Through here’s the generator.” As if Flowey had to remind you, and you stepped into the huge room full of gadgets, hanging wires and machinery. The floorspace was empty from what you could tell through the fog-like air, but the dust was so thick that it clouded the entire room. As the amalgamate ran around excited at the open space, you had to carefully make your way through until you approached a large object that you deemed as the generator. Leaning in closer for inspection, you noted that the handle was stuck between the off and on switch, as if it had simply fallen down and accidentally turned itself off. With a simple shrug, you gripped the handle and pushed, forcing the switch up. Immediately the lights in the room flickered on, the ventilation shafts above started to whir, and the dust that fogged up your view of the entire room began to get sucked away as the air was cleaned. However spotting the dark in the hall you had came from, you took a note that perhaps the generator didn’t power everything in the labs.

Which would explain how even though the power had been on this entire time, a few other rooms smelled putrid and revolting compared to some.

 

“Let there be light.” You breathed out, rather happily at that since the air in the generator room was slowly feeling more clean and safer to breathe. Flowey looked around as well “And fresh air, finally.”

The phone in your pocket suddenly started to make noise, and you quickly tugged it out and looked the broken screen over.

 

_ 50 missed texts. _

_ All from one person. _

 

“Shit.” You mumbled, though you also smiled. The realization hit you, and you laughed “Flowey the signal works! I got my texts!”

“That’s great~” He mocked enthusiasm, rolling his eyes and leaning away from you as you attempted to dial Frisk’s phone number. You had tried three times and brought it to your ear, all three times ended in failures as you heard nothing on the receiving end. You mumbled to yourself, trying for a fourth time “Come on… please work…!”

“If it doesn’t, then that’s alright.” Flowey mumbled nonchalantly, as you tried to ignore him and focus on dialing. “The underground isn’t so bad when you get used to it.”

 

_ And thank god you finally heard the dialtone. _

 

“Yes!” You cheered to yourself, considering Flowey didn’t seem too excited that you were able to contact Frisk. You quickly dialed in their number again, holding the phone to your ear and maneuvering around to make sure you were in the best spot that had the best signal. Finding out that said spot was right next to the generator, you leaned against it as Flowey slowly loosened their hold and decided he’d rather be used as a chew toy than listen to you and Frisk’s conversation. He fell onto the floor, but just as quick the amalgamate pooch ran over him and forced flowey to stick to their paw as they rushed around the room still.

 

_ “̷I̴’̷v̴e̸_̶ _̶ ̶y̷o̶u̷’̷v̶e̵ ̵b̷e̸e̸n̵ ̶_̵_̷_̵!̸”̸ _

 

It was Frisk’s voice alright! But they were breaking up. And they were lecturing you at a time like this? 

As Frisk started to rant and rave to you over the phone(while every now and again breaking up) you tried to calm them down and get a word in, but even through the static you could hear their anger and rage as they tried not to yell (even with their voice raised as high as their neutral demeanor would allow).

 

_ “̶Y̷o̷u̸’̶v̷e̵ ̷g̴o̴t̵_̴_̸-_̴_̵_̷ ̴t̸o̴ ̸d̸o̶!̴ ̸I̴ ̶c̷a̴n̸’̵t̵_̷_̶_̷_̸_̶_̸_̷”̴ _

 

“Frisk! First of all, please listen I don’t have much time!” You rose your voice loud enough for the amalgamate to calm down, a loud groan escaped Flowey, who was now half way across the room. Frisk was silent on the other end, other than the bits of static, you figured you finally got their attention “I know I was dumb, I don’t need a lecture right now. My signal is crap down here, I’m underground and I need help finding a way out.”

_ “̷A̶r̷e̵ ̷y̸o̸u̶ ̵s̸a̴f̷e̸?̶”  _  They asked quickly  _ “̴A̷r̶e̴ ̵y̶o̸u̶ ̵a̴l̵r̴i̵g̵h̸t̶?̵ ̷P̶l̷e̶a̴s̶e̶ ̴t̴e̶l̵l̷ ̷m̶e̵ ̸y̴o̶u̵’̶r̶e̴ ̴n̶o̵t̶ ̸_̷-_̷_̷_̵_̸_̵_̵”̸ _

“I’m fine.” You glanced at Flowey, who was trying to crawl away from the amalgamate, only for it to paw at him like a toy and make the plant yell in protest. You continued “Look, I know what you were trying to hide down here, well… I know  _ who _ you were trying to hide down here.”

 

_ “̸T̸h̷e̷n̶ ̸y̵o̵u̴ ̷k̷n̵o̷w̵ ̸t̶h̸a̴t̷ ̵_̷ ̴_̷-̶_̵-̴”̸ _

 

You wished you could make out what Frisk was saying, as they continued like you would be able to hear them through the static; _ “̵N̶o̶w̷ ̸y̶o̸u̶ ̵k̷n̵o̷w̴ ̷_̴_̸-̴_̴ ̶I̶ ̵_̶_̸ ̴_̶_̴-̵_̶,̷ ̵I̶ ̴m̴a̷d̴e̸ ̷a̷ ̷p̶r̵o̸m̶i̸s̸e̶ ̵t̶h̵a̸t̷ ̴…̴ ̸_̷_̵_̴_̷-̸_̶ ̴,̷ ̴-̶-̴-̶_̸-̶ ̴u̸n̵s̷t̵a̴b̶l̷e̸.̴”̶ _

But you shrugged it off as best as you could, even with you being a little curious “Flowey’s a friend of mine, actually...” You commented in hopes that Flowey was whom Frisk was referring to as ‘unstable’.

You said friend, you realized this but tried not to think too hard about it. You maneuvered around the generator in hopes of getting a better signal, finally managing to get one without so much static “Flowey’s helped me since the moment I fell down here.”

 

_ “̸R̶e̴a̴l̸l̷y̷.̶”̷ _ Frisk didn’t believe you.

 

You sighed heavily “Okay so we got off on the wrong foot. But after getting to know him we wound up... good friends…we kind of sort of opened up to each other.”

Just the mental images of all the banging you two did ran through your head like some erotic film, your body was already getting heated up from the memories. But the added image of him stabbing you through your stomach and then calling it  _ ‘another hole to play with’ _ made you try to hold back your vomit. Mixed emotions churned through you, and you glanced off towards Flowey who probably noticed your flustered face. He didn’t return the glance for long, before once more trying to flee from the amalgamate.

You finished “...and he’s the one who lead me to Alphys’ old lab. He told me about the backup generator that could’ve been strong enough to get a signal to the surface and boom! There has to be a way out of here, right?”

 

_ “̴T̸h̶e̴r̵e̷’̵s̴ ̴s̸o̷ ̶m̶u̴c̷h̶ ̴I̵ ̴c̷o̴u̷l̷d̷ ̵s̷a̷y̷ ̵t̸o̵ ̴y̵o̷u̸ ̴r̷i̸g̶h̸t̴ ̷n̸o̸w̶,̵ ̵b̶u̸t̴ ̶I̷ ̶k̴n̴o̷w̸ ̴n̵o̶w̶’̶s̸ ̴n̸o̸t̴ ̷t̸h̶e̵ ̶t̸i̶m̸e̷.̸”̶  _ You could mentally picture Frisk rubbing their temples in exhaustion right about now  _ “̸F̵l̷o̸w̵e̴y̴’̷s̷ ̵d̵a̸n̷g̷e̵r̷o̸u̵s̶ ̵a̶n̸d̷ ̸i̶t̴ ̶w̷a̶s̵ ̶d̶u̷m̶b̵ ̶o̸f̴ ̷y̶o̵u̷ ̶t̵o̷ ̴g̸o̸ ̴d̵o̷w̴n̶ ̵t̷h̷e̷r̵e̵ ̴i̶n̵ ̶t̶h̴e̶ ̸f̴i̵r̷s̶t̶ ̵p̸l̵a̴c̵e̴,̸ ̸e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̵m̶o̸r̴e̵ ̷s̴o̴ ̸t̴o̶ ̷c̷l̴a̷i̸m̶ ̶h̷i̸m̴ ̷a̶s̵ ̸s̶o̶m̵e̴ ̴f̶r̶i̶e̵n̷d̸ ̵a̷n̵d̸ ̸p̷u̶t̵ ̴y̶o̶u̸r̷ ̸l̴i̴f̵e̶ ̸i̷n̴ ̵h̴i̵s̶ ̶h̵a̴n̸d̵s̷-̸-̶ ̵well, l̸e̷a̵v̸e̴s̸…̴”̴ _

 

You paused “Isn’t he your friend too? Flowey even told me about this  _ fan club _ you have for him.”

Frisk did their best to ignore your comment  _ “̷.̵.̴.̸b̵u̸t̴ ̷s̶i̴n̴c̷e̴ ̶y̵o̶u̵ ̷a̷r̴e̶n̵’̴t̷ ̴d̸e̶a̶d̶…̶ ̵i̴t̶ ̶m̴e̵a̷n̶s̷ ̷h̶e̵ ̷h̸a̵s̸n̴’̶t̴ ̴d̶o̸n̷e̸ ̷a̵n̸y̷t̶h̷i̸n̶g̶ ̷t̴e̷r̴r̴i̷b̶l̶e̷.̷”̷ _

_ Right. _ As much as you wanted to mention, you knew you were already in deep trouble as is and didn’t find it a good idea to dig yourself any deeper in the hole you dug up for yourself. You did however want to mention that you had died, and somehow, came back to life. But… for some reason your mouth wouldn’t let you.

 

Frisk continued gently _ “̴Y̸o̶u̶’̸v̶e̷ ̴b̸e̶e̶n̴ ̵g̴o̵n̸e̷ ̵f̶o̶r̵ ̷a̶ ̴l̷o̵n̷g̷ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̸ ̴a̷n̸d̵ ̶I̷’̴v̵e̴ ̵b̵e̷e̸n̴ ̷w̷o̴r̸r̷i̴e̴d̸ ̴s̶i̷c̶k̸ ̵a̸b̵o̵u̶t̷ ̸y̵o̷u̴,̵ ̸I̴’̶m̷ ̷j̶u̸s̵t̶ ̶g̴l̷a̸d̴ ̸y̷o̵u̵’̶r̵e̵ ̵a̶l̴r̵i̷g̸h̷t̷.̸ ̶I̴ ̷d̷i̶d̸n̴’̶t̴ ̴k̶n̷o̸w̴ ̵w̸h̶e̷r̷e̷ ̵y̶o̶u̴ ̷w̷e̶r̷e̴,̴ ̶b̷u̷t̸ ̸I̶ ̷h̷a̸d̸ ̷a̶ ̴s̷m̴a̸l̶l̷ ̸h̷u̸n̸c̸h̸.̸”̸ _

“A long time?” You were nervous at their words, and they confirmed why _ “̶Y̸e̸a̴h̷,̸ ̵a̴s̴ ̸s̴o̸o̶n̷ ̷a̴s̶ ̸y̶o̷u̸ ̶l̷e̷f̵t̵ ̶w̸o̴r̴k̴ ̷l̴a̷s̴t̸ ̵w̶e̷e̴k̵-̵-̴”̵ _

_ Oh dear god it’s been more than a week.  _ You and Flowey were both so off with your sense of time. Here you were thinking you might have had one more day to spare or so but that didn’t happen.

 

_ “̷-̶-̸I̵ ̵c̷a̶l̵l̴e̵d̴ ̸y̶o̶u̵ ̷l̶a̷t̸e̴r̷ ̷i̵n̷ ̸t̶h̷e̴ ̷e̸v̶e̸n̷i̸n̷g̸ ̶t̷o̷ ̷s̶e̶e̶ ̴i̸f̶ ̷y̶o̸u̸ ̴w̴e̵r̵e̵ ̸o̷k̴a̵y̸…̸ ̴a̸n̸d̵ ̷y̷o̵u̸ ̶n̷e̶v̶e̵r̵ ̶p̷i̸c̸k̸e̷d̷ ̵u̷p̶,̴ ̷b̴u̵t̸ ̶n̴o̵w̵ ̴I̶’̷m̷ ̶g̴u̵e̴s̶s̴i̵n̶g̵ ̶i̸t̷’̴s̵ ̴b̵e̸c̵a̸u̵s̶e̷ ̷y̷o̶u̷ ̵w̶e̸n̴t̷ ̷a̶g̷a̷i̵n̵s̷t̶ ̵w̶h̷a̴t̵ ̶I̷ ̵s̶a̶i̸d̷ ̵a̶n̴d̵ ̸i̷m̷m̶e̸d̷i̴a̴t̶e̶l̶y̴ ̶r̵a̷n̶ ̷o̷f̸f̴ ̴t̷o̷ ̸t̷h̵e̴ ̷u̷n̷d̴e̶r̴g̴r̵o̶u̴n̸d̵.̷”̴ _

 

“I’m sorry, Frisk…” You apologized, and the static picked up, causing you to make your way around the generator again to try and hear them better “I’ll make it up to you when you save me, okay? Flowey say’s there’s no way out...”

_ “̸R̷i̶g̷h̵t̷.̵”̶ _ Frisk confirmed, but then clicked their tongue and gave you some hope  _ “̷C̷a̶n̸ ̴y̶o̷u̷ ̴m̶a̴k̸e̶ ̵i̷t̴ ̸b̴a̷c̶k̴ ̸t̴o̸ ̷t̶h̶e̸ ̵e̶n̸t̴r̸a̴n̴c̸e̵ ̷s̴a̷f̶e̶l̶y̷?̵ ̷I̶ ̴c̸a̷n̵ ̸g̸e̸t̵ ̷y̴o̸u̸ ̵m̵y̷s̴e̸l̷f̷…̴ ̴I̸’̷l̴l̵ ̷g̴r̷a̸b̶ ̵r̸o̷p̵e̴ ̸a̸n̷d̶ ̷s̸o̶m̴e̸ ̵e̴q̶u̶i̸p̶m̴e̵n̶t̷ ̵t̶o̵ ̶c̶l̶i̶m̶b̵ ̸d̴o̷w̸n̴ ̸t̷h̶e̵r̴e̶ ̴a̴n̴d̶ ̶g̸e̶t̸ ̸y̷o̴u̸.̵”̴ _

“Not even if I tried, Frisk...” You muttered, trying not to watch Flowey and the amalgamate anymore. Now Flowey had wrapped their vines around the dog like some harness and was riding it like a bull. “Too much collapsed on our way here, unless I develop dirt traveling powers like Flowey, there’s no way for me to make it back there.”

The other end was silent, for a long time. It made you nervous that you lost signal. You glanced down at your phone, before speaking up “Hello?”

_ “̵I̸’̴m̴ ̶s̶t̴i̴l̷l̸ ̷h̸e̴r̴e̷.̶”̸ _ Frisk said, not exactly excited, and somewhat disappointed. Suddenly the next words that spilled from their lips made you shiver in disbelief.  _ “̵T̷h̷e̸r̴e̸’̵s̵ ̵n̸o̶ ̵w̶a̴y̸ ̵t̷o̸ ̸s̴a̴v̸e̸ ̵y̵o̷u̴.̴”̷ _

You swallowed, letting out a nervous chuckle to try and brush it off as a terrible (and horribly placed)joke. “H-Huh?” You  _ can’t _ be serious-”

_ “̵I̴ ̷w̵a̷r̷n̵e̴d̸ ̵y̵o̶u̷.̴”̵ _ Frisk’s words felt so cold suddenly, and as if he knew what Frisk had said, Flowey stopped his antics with the amalgamate and stared at you from across the room. Frisk continued in such a low and rather dull tone that you were having trouble hearing them  _ “̸I̷ ̶w̸a̵r̵n̶e̷d̶ ̶y̶o̷u̵ ̸t̴h̸e̵r̴e̸ ̴w̵a̴s̷ ̵n̶o̵ ̴w̵a̷y̵ ̶o̷u̶t̶,̷ ̴a̷n̷d̴ ̶y̸o̷u̸ ̴f̷o̸r̸c̶e̶d̵ ̴y̷o̴u̴r̴ ̵w̴a̵y̶ ̵i̸n̴…̶w̴e̶l̴l̴,̸ ̸d̴o̶w̴n̴.̴ ̷S̶o̵ ̶w̷h̵a̵t̶ ̴d̶o̴ ̵y̸o̶u̷ ̶t̶h̷i̸n̷k̵’̵s̴ ̶g̴o̶i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̵o̶ ̶h̷a̶p̷p̷e̷n̴ ̶t̵o̶ ̸g̶e̷t̴ ̸y̴o̵u̷ ̸o̶u̶t̶ ̵o̵f̸ ̶t̴h̴e̷r̵e̸?̶”̸ _

 

“F-Frisk… please…” You tried, the panic in your voice was starting to make it harder to talk or even breath. The lump in your throat felt like you were choking on air, the frustration and curiosity with the fact that, well, Flowey might have been right? You’d have to get used to things underground? “You can’t be serious…! There has to be some sort of way- there was a way for you to get out when you first-”

 

_ “̸T̸h̸e̶r̸e̶ ̸w̵a̷s̷,̸ ̴a̷n̵d̶ ̸t̷h̵e̷n̷ ̵w̷e̸ ̸s̶e̵a̸l̸e̶d̵ ̸i̷t̶,̷ ̷r̴e̵m̶e̸m̴b̷e̵r̵?̴ ̴T̴h̸e̵ ̷o̴n̵l̷y̷ ̸w̶a̷y̷ ̷t̴o̴ ̶h̷e̷l̸p̵ ̶y̷o̴u̶ ̴o̸u̶t̸ ̸i̸s̵ ̶c̵o̶m̶p̸l̴e̶t̵e̵l̵y̷ ̴d̴e̵s̸t̶r̷o̶y̸i̷n̸g̴ ̸t̸h̵e̸ ̴o̴n̶e̸ ̵w̸a̵l̸l̵ ̶t̷h̴a̸t̷ ̷k̵e̵p̴t̴ ̷e̵v̶e̴r̶y̴o̴n̷e̷ ̵s̵a̵f̸e̶ ̴f̷r̷o̴m̵ ̶F̴l̶o̴w̴e̷y̷.̶ ̷D̶e̵s̵t̴r̷o̵y̵i̵n̵g̶ ̸t̵h̴e̴ ̸w̸a̵l̵l̴ ̵a̶n̸d̷ ̵b̴r̶e̸a̴k̶i̷n̶g̵ ̷m̷y̴ ̴p̴r̶o̷m̶i̸s̶e̶ ̶t̴o̷-̶”̷ _

 

They cut themselves off, and it’s not like you needed an explanation. You heard Frisk in the echo flower… Frisk had promised Asriel and Flowey to keep the flower underground for the safety of everyone else. It would all be ruined if Frisk destroyed the wall. Whether Flowey was a changed person or not, you knew what he was capable of… the temptation would be too much.

“I understand.” You said simply “I get it. I’m… I’m sorry Frisk.”

 

The other line was silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Frisk, ladies and gentlemen.  
> > *round of applause is heard*


	17. Continued The Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just imagining taking the same path as Frisk, filled you with _DETERMINATION._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I wanted to wait and hold back uploading this so quickly--  
> > But then I found myself stuck on writing through the 18th chapter so I figured if I post this now I have all the time in the world to work on it.
> 
> > *screams internally*

###  **Chapter Seventeen:** ** _Continued The Song_**

“I’ve made some crappy mistakes… and so many more since I’ve been down here.” You wanted to laugh into the phone. Frisk was still deathly silent on the other line, but you could still hear the faint static emitting, giving you hope that Frisk hadn’t hung up on you just yet. You wanted to laugh, but instead, you found your eyes filling up with tears. The laugh seemed more like a cough, and you weren’t even embarrassed that Flowey was staring right at you still, watching you with more attention and his gaze almost burning the side of your face “But I’ve learned a lot down here. A lot of important things, things about Flowey… things about Asriel, the Dreemurrs… things about monsters, humanity… and I’ve learned a lot about you, Frisk.”

 

_The other line was silent._

 

“You have so much power, and it was probably a lot for a kid like yourself to be able to handle on your own. So much was put on you the moment you fell down, and it’s still the same even now, isn’t it? You were the only one that could ever save everyone because that’s what you had… the power to… to save.”

 

_The other line was silent._

 

“Resets, Saves… alternate timelines and universes. Yet through it all you managed to save everyone. You rescued every single person underground, Frisk… because whenever you would die, you would come back… whenever you would mess up, you would restart to fix it. Because you had the power to save everyone.”

 

_And here was the selfish part._

 

“But what about _me,_ huh?” You wiped your eyes on your dirtied lab coat, finally motioning to yourself with a pound against your chest. “What about me and what about _him?_ Hell, I don’t even care if you leave me here to _rot,_ but what the hell did you do for Asriel? Or Flowey? Asriel might be gone but- but Flowey is _still here_ and is waiting for _his turn_ that hasn’t come in… what… fifteen or twenty or whatever years?! And you’re gonna keep going on hiding him and acting like he doesn’t exist--?!”

 

_“̶Y̴o̴u̴ ̵h̷a̵v̵e̷ ̷n̶o̸ ̶i̵d̴e̸a̶ ̴w̵h̷a̶t̵ ̷t̷h̴e̷ ̵h̷e̸l̴l̷ ̷y̷o̶u̶’̸r̴e̸ ̷t̶a̸l̷k̶i̴n̶g̴ ̸a̴b̸o̸u̶t̷.̴ ̴A̶n̸d̸ ̵I̴ ̸s̶u̵g̷g̸e̸s̴t̶,̵ ̴b̷e̶f̷o̵r̸e̶ ̶y̸o̵u̴ ̶k̵e̷e̷p̵ ̵g̴o̴i̶n̸g̷,̴ ̶y̸o̵u̴ ̵s̶h̶u̴t̵ ̸u̴p̷ ̶a̶n̶d̸ ̶c̷a̴l̵m̷ ̷d̵o̵w̸n̶ ̴b̴e̴f̷o̵r̶e̸ ̷I̵ ̸m̵a̵k̸e̶ ̴y̵o̵u̵ ̸c̵h̸o̵k̶e̸ ̸o̷n̵ ̴y̶o̴u̴r̴ ̴w̵o̶r̸d̴s̶.̵”̶_

 

Frisk’s voice changed almost immediately, and as cold and cruel as they were, they sounded like they choked even while trying to say it. Their tone on the other line had gotten so intense that you could even hear Frisk’s deep and low breath practically hitting your ear. But behind those cold and distant words you could hear them tremble. What you had said was spot on, and hit Frisk too close to home. The problem here was that now you knew too much, and you feared that them leaving you underground was yet another means to hide the truth behind this _tale_. Their words so intense, it made you shut up instantly, your muscles tense, and one fist clench at your side. You finally looked back to Flowey, who still stood there staring up at you and had somehow gotten closer as you had looked away. His eyes were so big and round, like a child watching their parents fight.

 

This was _ridiculous._

 

You wiped your eyes with your balled fist, giving a broken smile down at Flowey. The flower muttered under a raspy breath, looking away as his cheeks reddened _“Don’t fight for me.”_ Before finally turning around and crawling themselves after the dog to probably distract himself from what was going on.

 

Frisk finally spoke again after the long pause, though their voice returned to normal. It was strange, you were confused about this, but you didn’t dare speak after the threat they had unleashed. _“̷Y̴o̶u̷ ̴r̶i̴s̷k̶e̸d̸ ̷y̴o̶u̵r̷ ̴l̴i̵f̵e̸,̵ ̷a̸n̴d̴ ̴e̵v̸e̴r̴y̴o̵n̴e̸ ̸e̷l̴s̶e̶’̸s̸ ̸o̶n̸ ̶t̴h̷e̶ ̴s̴u̷r̶f̴a̴c̷e̵,̵ ̶a̶l̷l̷ ̵f̶o̴r̶ ̶t̷h̴e̵ ̴s̵a̷k̶e̵ ̴o̶f̴ ̸s̸e̷e̵k̴i̴n̶g̷ ̵k̵n̸o̵w̸l̶e̵d̸g̷e̵ ̷t̷h̶a̶t̶ ̷y̷o̸u̵ ̶r̷e̸a̸l̴l̶y̶ ̵d̴i̸d̶n̸’̷t̴ ̶n̴e̷e̶d̴ ̸y̴o̴u̴r̷ ̶n̵o̷s̷e̶ ̴r̴u̵b̴b̵i̴n̵g̸ ̸i̸n̴t̸o̴.̵ ̷A̷n̴d̴ ̶n̴o̷w̸ ̴y̴o̵u̵’̸r̶e̵ ̵l̸i̴k̸e̷ ̷m̶e̷,̵ ̵a̵r̷e̵n̸’̷t̵ ̸y̴o̴u̴?̸ ̴S̷t̷u̸c̷k̸ ̴i̵n̴ ̸a̴ ̶s̷t̸r̶a̸n̵g̶e̴ ̷l̵o̸o̸p̸ ̴w̵h̶e̷r̸e̷ ̸y̵o̴u̶ ̵n̵e̵e̶d̵ ̸t̶o̴ ̴k̶n̶o̷w̵ ̷w̴h̸a̷t̶’̵s̴ ̸g̶o̶i̵n̷g̷ ̷o̵n̴ ̸b̶u̵t̵ ̴a̵l̴s̴o̷ ̷f̵e̷e̷l̴ ̴u̵n̸a̶b̸l̵e̵ ̷t̵o̵ ̸h̵a̴n̵d̸l̸e̸ ̴i̷t̴ ̶a̷l̵l̸.̷ ̴I̵ ̶s̶h̴o̶u̸l̴d̷ ̷h̷a̴v̷e̷ ̶k̵n̴o̴w̶n̶…̷ ̷t̸h̸e̷ ̶m̷o̸m̶e̷n̷t̵ ̷t̶h̴e̸ ̸p̶o̴w̴e̵r̷ ̷d̶i̶s̴a̵p̴p̶e̵a̸r̴e̶d̵ ̴f̷r̴o̴m̵ ̴m̷e̴,̶ ̸I̷ ̴s̷h̷o̵u̸l̴d̴ ̵h̶a̷v̴e̷ ̵k̸n̶o̴w̴n̵ ̶t̸h̵a̸t̵ ̸s̴o̵m̵e̶o̸n̷e̸ ̴h̴a̸d̷ ̶f̷a̴l̸l̵e̷n̵ ̸u̵n̶d̵e̵r̵g̷r̶o̴u̸n̴d̷ ̶b̴u̶t̶ ̷I̶…̸ ̷I̸ ̴a̶c̶t̷u̶a̶l̸l̴y̷ ̵t̵h̸o̵u̶g̴h̶t̵ ̵t̵h̵a̶t̷…̷ ̶l̵i̵f̴e̵ ̸w̸o̵u̷l̶d̶ ̶b̴e̸ ̶n̶o̵r̴m̵a̷l̷ ̷a̷g̶a̷i̸n̴,̷ ̴f̶o̷r̸ ̵o̷n̶c̴e̷.̷”̸_

 

Your heart ached. Frisk was so burdened, and you wished you had known sooner.

They added _“̴B̵u̴t̵ ̷t̷h̷i̴s̴ ̶o̸n̷l̷y̴ ̵m̷e̷a̷n̷s̷ ̶t̶h̴a̸t̶…̵ ̸i̴f̴ ̴y̴o̶u̵ ̸d̶o̴n̷’̴t̷ ̶h̵a̴v̷e̴ ̶i̵t̷…̴ ̶s̷o̸m̸e̵o̷n̸e̶ ̵e̵l̴s̸e̵ ̵d̶o̶e̵s̴ ̷n̵o̴w̷.̸ ̴A̸n̶d̸ ̴w̷h̸e̸n̶ ̸y̸o̸u̵ ̵g̶e̷t̵ ̵b̵a̷c̸k̶,̵ ̵y̴o̷u̴ ̷a̶n̶d̶ ̵I̷ ̶a̴r̸e̸ ̵g̸o̷i̸n̶g̴ ̸t̶o̶ ̸h̵a̷v̷e̶ ̴a̵ ̵s̸e̶r̴i̸o̴u̸s̶ ̶c̵h̷a̴t̵.̶”̷_

When… _you get back?_

You found yourself cheering up a bit, sniffling at the realization that Frisk wasn’t going to give up on you just yet “H-How?”

 _“̸I̸’̸l̴l̷ ̷b̵r̷e̵a̶k̶ ̸t̸h̷e̵ ̷w̸a̶l̶l̸ ̷f̵o̷r̷ ̵y̵o̸u̶.̴”̶_ Frisk said dully _“̵B̵u̷t̷ ̴y̵o̷u̷ ̶h̶a̶v̷e̶ ̷t̸o̸ ̷m̶e̶e̷t̸ ̶m̷e̴ ̸a̴t̶ ̶t̶h̸e̵ ̵e̴x̷i̷t̵ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̵o̵o̴n̴ ̸a̵s̶ ̸y̵o̷u̷ ̷c̴a̶n̵.̸ ̴G̵i̴v̸e̷ ̶m̷e̷ ̶s̵o̶m̷e̴ ̷s̵o̶r̵t̸ ̶o̴f̷ ̷s̶i̵g̶n̴a̷l̶ ̶t̷h̶a̷t̴ ̴y̸o̸u̴’̸r̴e̸ ̴o̵n̵ ̷t̸h̷e̸ ̴o̷t̵h̴e̵r̴ ̴s̴i̴d̵e̴,̸ ̶a̸n̷d̷ ̶I̸’̸l̷l̷ ̴b̸r̶e̷a̴k̵ ̶i̶t̵ ̷d̵o̸w̵n̸ ̶f̸o̷r̸ ̵y̴o̷u̵ ̶t̷o̷ ̴g̶e̵t̵ ̴o̶u̵t̶,̷ ̸u̷n̷d̵e̵r̴s̴t̸a̷n̶d̸?̷ ̵I̸t̶’̷s̵ ̸t̶h̶e̵ ̷o̷n̵l̵y̵ ̸w̴a̷y̶,̸ ̷a̸t̸ ̷t̵h̷i̷s̵ ̸p̶o̴i̶n̷t̷.̴”̷_

You smiled more, nodding a little bit as if Frisk could actually see you agreeing. Though suddenly they added _“̶O̵h̵,̸ ̵a̵n̶d̴ ̸a̷l̵s̴o̷.̵ ̸Y̶o̷u̷ ̴c̷a̷n̴ ̷g̸i̴v̴e̸ ̷a̸s̸ ̷b̶i̴g̶ ̴o̶f̸ ̴a̴ ̸h̴e̶a̴r̸t̴w̴a̵r̸m̷i̸n̶g̸ ̶s̸p̶e̸e̷c̷h̴ ̶a̸s̷ ̴y̴o̵u̸r̴ ̵d̷e̸t̵e̸r̴m̶i̵n̴e̶d̶ ̵h̷e̷a̵r̷t̸ ̵c̴a̷n̸,̵ ̴b̶u̵t̸ ̵F̶l̸o̴w̷e̴y̷ ̷c̷a̶n̷n̸o̵t̵ ̵b̸e̴ ̸a̸l̴l̵o̷w̶e̶d̴ ̵o̶u̴t̵ ̴o̷f̸ ̵t̸h̶e̵ ̷u̵n̵d̸e̶r̴g̷r̴o̸u̵n̵d̸.̶ ̵T̸h̸a̸t̴’̴s̵ ̶i̴t̸,̷ ̴a̸n̷d̷ ̸t̷h̵a̴t̶’̸s̶ ̶f̴i̵n̷a̸l̸.̴”̶_

 

You swallowed, opening your mouth to speak, but they cut you off again _“̵A̴n̶d̵ ̷y̷o̴u̸ ̶s̶u̷r̶e̵ ̸a̴s̸ ̷h̷e̵l̷l̴ ̸k̶n̴o̴w̷ ̸w̶h̶y̸,̵ ̸d̸o̴n̶’̷t̷ ̶y̷o̶u̶.̸ I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸,̵ ̷I̷’̴m̵ ̴n̶o̸t̶ ̷d̷u̵m̸b̶.̸”̶_

 

It made your body cold all over. Did they know? Did they know that Flowey had tried and, technically, succeeded at killing you? It sounded as if...

 

_Did they know that somehow you were brought back to life?_

_...Did they know that it was neither you or Flowey who kept you alive?_

“But he’s changed--” You pleaded, suddenly though the line went dead. You grimaced, looking to your phone, then quickly re-trying to dial and muttering “Hello? Frisk? Frisk!”

 

“Did it cut out, finally?” Flowey asked from across the room, you glanced his way and spotted Flowey once again riding the dog. You were dumbfounded to spot that he had somehow tamed it, using his vines like a reign as he had done before as the amalgamate approached and slowed to a stop. However it wasn’t pleased with Flowey’s doings, whimpering rather meekly it’s usual _“̸S̶h̴e̷ ̷f̷o̴r̴g̴o̸t̶ ̶m̶e̸…̴”̸_

“Yeah…” You nodded with a frown, quickly wiping your eyes from any excess tears you might have accidentally dropped. The phone at this point was useless, so you simply tossed it on the floor and let it shatter more. You admitted that it was a bit harsh and rough, there was anger behind your throw, and it even caused the amalgamate to wince at this. It whimpered, Flowey loosened his hold on the beast in order to let it run off and towards the doorway that lead back to the hall, leaving Flowey on the floor.

Flowey stared at the shattered phone that now laid uselessly on the ground, scattered into a few pieces. He muttered under a small breath “So… what was that talk about, anyway?”

You really didn’t want to talk about it, and your face expressed this easily by twisting into unamusement and disinterest. However he suddenly returned his focus up to you “Hey, what the hell was that? Why were you… fighting for me…? After what I’ve done… why were you trying to defend me like I’m some special case?”

You groaned, rolling your eyes as you looked up to the ceiling. It was so far above you that you could barely even see it, even with the lights being on “Flowey we’ve talked about this so many times-”

“Well then say it _again!”_ He demanded, instinctively he wrapped his roots around your legs. But without vines(which he could only apparently summon when within soil) all it was was a tiny flower attempting to grip at you weakly. Flowey growled at you as he glared, you returned the look as he demanded again “Tell me what the hell is so special that you have this need to save me! I know I want out, I know I want a lot of fucking things-- but I don’t deserve them! I don’t deserve anything! Why are you being so nice after all I’ve put you through?!” His already weak grip loosened on your legs, and you simply knelt yourself down to his level as he breathed out and looked elsewhere “I’m the reason you wound up stuck down here. I’m the reason you stayed down here longer than you wanted to… I’m the fucking reason you almost died… so why are you still fighting for me to get out?”

 

It couldn’t have been what you were thinking, because he proved against that the moment he stabbed you.

 

_…_

 

_...Right?_

 

“Even so.” You mentioned bluntly “Frisk is still against it, so whatever I’m fighting for doesn’t matter.” Flowey looked back to you at this, and you added “I told him you were my friend and you’ve done nothing but help me make it this far.”

“Do you really mean that?” He asked then, arching an invisible brow “Are we only friends?”

You pause, returning it “I don’t know, Flowey… _are we?”_

It worked before, and it worked now. He grunted in response, not willing to answer just as much as you weren’t. You changed the subject “Frisk said they’ll be opening the wall where the barrier used to be, I just need to give some sort of signal when we get there.”

“Tch.” Flowey huffed under his breath “I suppose that it doesn’t matter… whether we’re friends or not, right? You’re leaving either way.”

“Well, true.” You simply agreed, shrugging your shoulders to try and seem less hurt than you actually were. The whole _‘contact the surface’_ thing got more emotional than you needed it to “But it still doesn’t hurt to admit sometimes whether you consider someone a friend or something else.”

 

“Then why aren’t you?”

 

Well, he finally asked.

 

You refocused on him only to spot his stare rather intimidating. Right into your eyes, as if hungrily eyeing your soul, and you could feel your chest pounding. It was somewhat embarrassing, having your tactics noted down like that. You did your best to get him to confess something, anything really, only for him to wonder why you weren’t making the first move.

 

So… _why weren’t you?_

 

The amalgamate scampered back over, letting out a sloppy noise at its approach. You naturally leaned down and offered your arm, but blinked as Flowey mounted the dog “Forget it, I’d rather ride a fucking dog than you right now.” He stuck out his tongue “And I bet you’d like it too much if I rode you anyway.”

A part of you wanted to die as you watched him and the amalgamate hurry off out the room, you followed slowly behind, looking down at the busted phone before leaving it completely behind.

The three of you rode the working elevator back up to the main floor of the lab, in mostly silence other than the amalgamate making peculiar wet noises now and again. The third button option, that would have lead right to the castle where the barrier once was(as Flowey had explained), had conveniently been destroyed.

And you wondered if Flowey had anything to do with that.

 

When the elevator doors lifted open for you, Flowey and the amalgamate were the first to wander out into the fresh lab. Of course with the dog-like creature entering, the room was slowly smelling of the downstairs, its decomposed scent wafting throughout the clean air. But your senses were shot at this point, you could barely even tell that the air on the main floor was fresh. Flowey directed the amalgamate to the backdoor of the lab, stretching himself as best as he could to reach the button that would open the door.

You took the time to wander over towards the kitchen sink, looking for at least some sort of cup or glass to fill with water. Flowey had lost his bowl in the basement and you knew that he wouldn’t make it that long in Hotland without something either for his roots or something for himself to drink. But how quick would the water evaporate if you were just carrying around a glass of water?

Eventually you settled with the same idea as before. Rinsing out another bowl and cleaning it up, you went outside quickly and filled it up with the dry dirt of the ground, before returning just to soak it in water “Flowey, before we go…” You started, finally returning to him. He had watched you maneuver around quickly, but hadn’t even attempted to lift himself away from the amalgamate “Here’s another bowl. I filled it with water so the soil should be okay for awhile.”

“Why are you worrying about that?” Flowey asked, arching an invisible brow at your actions “I’m riding this thing. Just carry it I guess, until I want it.”

What were you, some sort of slave? You glared a bit “Flowey, you’re going to dehydrate.”

“Then I’ll fucking die.” He shrugged his leaves, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his response. He persisted though “Boo hoo, now let’s get going. We wasted enough time here and I don’t want Frisk to turn me into a salad for you not showing up.”

This time he didn’t wait for you, yanking a little at the makeshift harness of vines, the amalgamate let out a sloppy noise before rushing out of the laboratory and into the heat through the backdoor of the building. You sighed as you followed as best as you can, the automatic doors shutting behind you in your wake.

 

You only took a few steps and you already wanted to shove your own head into the damp soil of the bowl you carried. Sweat immediately clung to you, your body, and all the wet gunk and grey mucus-like goop shrivelled and dried up, and suddenly faded away into bits of dust. Everything that was even a little bit wet was slowly drying as if it had never existed, and you were already surprised that the soil wasn’t doing the same. No wonder as you walked along you spotted an emptied water cooler, and could even see that there were more along the way, though unfortunately also empty. Probably due to never being replenished, since Hotland wasn’t one of Flowey’s usual hangout spots, but you did wish they were available, the trip through would have been easier to handle.

As you glanced yourself over, the rotting smell had long since burnt out of your clothing, and even the amalgamate ahead of you didn’t seem to leave a trail of it behind. Realizing this, you paused, glancing ahead of you at Flowey and the amalgamate, who were still waltzing along. It was peculiar seeing Flowey mounted on it like he were a cowboy riding a horse, but that wasn’t exactly the point for your interest.

 

Suddenly, you noticed it’s legs begin to reveal cracked marks, the drying of its body suddenly beginning. The realization that its whole form was in danger. Your heart skipped a beat, for some reason in the back of your mind, in that moment, you thought… _‘I’m gonna keep that dog when I get home.’_

 

It would have been nice.

 

“Flowey!” You screamed, and just as he turned his head around to look at you, the rest of the beast crumbled. Drying up, shrivelling, it whimpered in agony and panted heavily as if even the air filling its lungs would worsen the damage. Flowey had quickly released his vines and roots from it, collapsing on the side and against the earth with a grunt as the rest of the amalgamate suddenly turned into nothing more than a pile of crumbled dust.

You ran as fast as you could to catch up finally, setting the bowl down and gripping at the dust with two handfuls, digging for a bit, then trying to push it all together, gasping from the heavy heat and the realization that the amalgamate had perished. Just like that, they were dead. They were destroyed. They were so excited, so eager to move to the surface with you. To see their family and loved ones again, and it had all been stripped away. Far too easily to even comprehend what was happening. You wanted more than anything for your shoving the pile together to help somehow, in any way it would have been great. Another noise, another whimper, some sort of sign to tell you that the dog would get better and heal and could still continue.

 

“What the hell?” Flowey muttered, still sitting there on the hot earth staring at what had happened, his own eyes were wide in a temporary moment of confusion.

You were so mortified at all this, you didn’t know how to react or what to do. It was just like you, only wishing to go home… and now here it was, as if it never existed in the first place. This couldn’t be actually happening, could it? Suddenly you felt a panic escape you, torn from what had occurred. You were already on the verge of tears.

 

The golden flower seemed to try and crawl towards you, mumbling faintly “You didn’t know, okay? It can’t be helped… no use crying over something like--”

“What the hell happened?!” You finally blurted out, your voice had cracked and afterwards you made a shaky breath. Flowey returned to holding a confused look again “It was probably left underground for a reason, maybe Alphys knew it was unstable and couldn’t handle the--”

 

You let out a growl, not knowing what to say, but letting Flowey know he needed to stop. And he did, Flowey squinted his eyes at you in a somewhat annoyed expression, but he was silent. You finally breathed out “You… knew?”

 

He snorted “Tch, knew _what?”_

 

“This is your fault.” You retorted all too quickly, mentally slapping yourself for even thinking of such a thing, but your words spilled anyway even as you tried to pull at your own restraints “You should’ve waited! We should have seen if it could even handle the heat! Why didn’t you wait?! Instead you were so eager to just fucking--”

 

“We don’t have any more _time to wait!_ Remember?!” Flowey pulled back a bit, glaring at you from the assumption “Frisk is going to be waiting for you at the barrier wall, we don’t have time for all this waiting around _bullshit_ anymore! Pretty sure if you take too long Frisk will assume I did something and--”

 **“YOU KNEW IT WOULD DIE!”** You finally screamed at him, yelling so loud that you even felt your own eardrums pop from the sound. Your tears tried to roll down your face, but even they would slowly dry before they reached your chin. You found yourself turning into a mess all over a dog that you hadn’t even known for more than, what, five hours? Maybe it was because it was just like you; lost, feeling forgotten, and then you finally found hope only for it to almost be stripped away. But in this case, their hope definitely was taken from them before they even had a chance to look at it.

 

You stuttered out, through clenched teeth as you tried to hold back your anger “You were tricking me this entire time…! Trying to lure it into the fucking heat just so it would die. I knew it…” You shook your head and looked away from Flowey’s already shifting face, his face changing into not just more confusion but trying his best not to snap like you were right now. Now you hunched yourself over the dust pile, staring it down like the actual gravesite of a loved one “Flowey you… I just can’t--”

“Right, you can’t trust me. I get it.” Flowey breathed out, almost lazily, as if he didn’t exactly care what you said against him “I don’t blame you, I won’t hold it against you. Because it’s true, you can’t. I can’t even trust myself… why do you think… _I’m down here in the first place?”_

 

You didn’t want to look at him, you couldn’t, but you couldn’t look at the pile of dust anymore either. You closed your eyes and tried to quiet your gentle sobbing, loosening your hold of the handfuls of dust just to let your senses feel it slip away between your fingers and probably back into the pile. If not that, then the hot breeze of the Hotland’s would carry the corpse away into the air, to either disintegrate from the heat or become one with it. Flowey had moved himself around to the other side of you, perhaps trying to get a better look at your face, but you turned away once again before he started. “I want to leave so badly. If I had a chance, I would take it. But even I know that… from experience…”

He trailed off for a moment, probably thinking back to when he had hurt you.

“...that it’s not safe for me to leave here. Frisk probably said that to you, didn’t they?” His voice softened “They told you that you couldn’t let me leave… I heard you tell them that I had changed… but not really, not by much. I’m still… the same old _Flowey.”_

 

He gave a hoarse laugh, and suddenly your body jolted and your eyes opened the moment something touched your cheek. Looking towards the direction of the tiny root, you saw Flowey staring at you, a part of him brushing over your cheek, perhaps trying to wipe away the tears that would dry before reaching halfway down your face. You found yourself trembling, your hands completely dry and ashy from what you had done. You weren’t sure what to say in the moment, you wanted to say something, maybe he deserved an apology?

“I don’t blame you for wanting to blame every little shitty thing on me.” Flowey mentioned as gently as possible, still holding your cheek. You could tell he didn’t care much about the amalgamate and what had happened to _it_ , specifically. But he had a genuine concern for you.

 

“And… if that’s what it will take to make you feel better, then I’d let you do it over and over… and we can go back and forth forever if you really wanted to. I have eternity, after all.”

 

Flowey was willing to fight to make you feel better. Himself and you?

 

_“̸̵̴Y̴̷̶o̸̷̴u̸̷̷ ̴̷̶a̴̸̴r̵̵̶e̶̵̷ ̵̸̵t̸̷̴h̵̸̸e̷̸̴ ̴̸̶s̵̶̷t̵̵̶r̷̴̷o̷̶̵n̵̷̵g̴̴̷e̸̶̸s̵̴̵t̴̵̶ ̴̸̷p̴̴̶e̷̶̵r̶̶̶s̴̸̶o̶̸̴n̴̴̶ ̷̵̷e̴̷̴v̸̷̶e̸̸̵r̵̵̵,̴̷̶ ̸̴̵F̸̵̷l̷̴̷o̷̴̶w̴̸̷e̴̶̵y̵̷̶…̷̴̵ ̵̵̵a̵̴̴n̸̴̴d̴̴̸ ̵̷̸i̷̶̷f̷̵̴ ̴̵̷a̵̸̵l̴̸̷l̴̸̶ ̷̵̷i̸̵̷t̴̸̶ ̸̸̶t̵̵̵a̵̷̴k̴̵̴e̴̵̸s̷̵̶ ̷̶̷t̵̵̶o̴̷̸ ̵̶̶k̶̴̴e̶̶̶e̷̷̸p̶̶̵ ̴̸̶y̸̸̷o̸̵̴u̵̸̸r̴̶̴ ̵̷̴s̵̸̷a̶̶̷n̷̴̸i̶̸̴t̵̵̷y̶̴̵ ̵̵̸i̵̶̸n̴̷̷ ̷̵̷c̴̵̵h̸̴̶e̴̵̵c̵̵̷k̷̷̶ ̸̵̴i̸̵̵s̸̷̵ ̶̸̷f̶̷̶o̴̸̸r̶̵̶ ̷̷̸y̶̷̶o̶̵̴u̷̶̶ ̴̷̴t̷̸̷o̷̴̵ ̷̸̸h̸̵̷u̸̴̷r̵̵̴t̷̷̵ ̷̴̸m̶̷̴e̴̵̸ ̴̸̶t̸̸̷h̴̸̶e̶̵̴n̶̵̴ ̵̶̵s̴̶̷o̴̸̴ ̷̵̷b̵̴̵e̷̸̸ ̵̶̴i̷̸̶t̴̸̸.̵̴̸”̴̶̷_

 

You remembered your words to him all too well, regretting having hurt you, and now you regretting having hurt him. And the both of you were far too willing to let things go on in some sort of mental and physically abusive cycle, back and forth, to make one another happy. You were more than willing to let him kill you before, for the sake of him remaining sane. And he was more than willing to do the same for you now.

But at the time, you also didn’t think he would actually want to hurt you.

“I keep saying I’ll get over it, for us to move on from it…” You finally found your voice, as cracked and broken as it was. You looked away from him, causing him to pull his root away from your face as you breathed out shakily “I told us to put it aside, but I can’t. It’s hard to get over the fact that… you killed me, but I still came back. It’s hard to believe that you stabbed me after… everything we’ve been through together. With each other.”

Flowey was suddenly silent, of course. It only made sense. Unsure about what to say, the two of you were staring elsewhere in the Hotland heat to distract your eyes from each other. You then asked “But… I have to know… is it true?”

 

Flowey questioned back cautiously “Is _what_ true?”

 

“What you said, about us having sex.” Even the word made you cringe and shudder a bit “Using me… for sex and just as some means of convincing me to stay underground with you.”

 

“I got carried away, I admit it. Okay?” Flowey was surprisingly quick to defend himself, grunting as you felt his eyes return to looking at you. You felt them staring at you as he spoke, even if you refused to look back. “I was… I was angry, and upset that… after all we just did, you still didn’t want to… stay. Can’t you imagine? Feeling these strong emotions for someone, and they just… don’t want to be around you? I didn’t mean any of those things… I just--”

“I wish I believed you..” You said lightly, and he slowly relaxed, chuckling under a soft breath as he added “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, either. But… at least, for now…” You finally managed to look at him, as he fidgeted in place. His eyes were fixated on the damp bowl of dirt “We should really start moving… things will figure themselves out, they always do.”

You swallowed, your mouth dry now that your eyes stopped their tears. The crying had practically dehydrated you, and now the both of you were in the need of something to drink. The least you could do was allow Flowey to not die in the middle of Hotland. After all, he probably couldn’t simply wake up from being dead like you could. You tried not to smile at this thought either, it was dark humor of course, and now wasn’t the appropriate time to mention it. But from this, you felt… a heavy weight had been lifted from your shoulders. Actually talking about these insecurities made you feel somewhat better.

 

With a weak nod, you reached out, carefully picking him up before setting him in the bowl of dirt. He immediately wiggled himself in, getting comfortable and practically sighing at the enjoyment of the wet dirt. He sprouted vines, using them to lift the bowl up like legs. “If we both don’t start moving soon, we’ll be toast.” He gave a light chuckle, and even though it was a tiny bit comical, you tried not to laugh. You finally stood up from the pile of dust, however glancing down at it still before fully pulling away.

 

Flowey cleared his throat, it was apparent how awkward he was feeling about all this, and he mumbled “I think… he would have wanted you to make it home too.”

 

Glancing at Flowey, the flower looked elsewhere as soon as your eyes had tried to meet his, slowly carrying himself away from you and down the path that they had been taking a few moments ago. You mumbled to yourself “Maybe…” Before looking back down at the pile. A few traces of it fluttered, as if it were trying to escape towards the side rivers of lava. Looking back to how far Flowey had gotten already, you noticed he decided to stop for you, though not turning around, he sat his bowl down and continued facing ahead.

You knelt back down again, removing your backpack and unwrapping the napkin from around the few baked goods you had left. A little backpack lint wouldn’t hurt, you figured, and you wanted to carry something more important anyway. You took a big handful of the dust and placed it into the napkin, wrapping it up as securely as you could. You smiled, trying not to cry a little more, but mentally you figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

 

“You’re gonna make it. I promise.” You said softly, placing the dust into your backpack “I won’t forget you.”

 

Slipping the straps back on, you figured it was the right thing to do. As the hot winds blew the pile towards the lava, you took it as a small sign that perhaps it wanted to find an end. A part of you really didn’t want to do it, but the hint of fear that it was still alive but feeling tortured and hopeless in its pile made you keep moving. You carefully picked up handfuls, as much as you could, and back and forth you went, carrying it and tossing it gently into the lava. And when it was all said and done, you took in a deep breath and sighed, closing your eyes for a moment and simply standing at the edge. You hoped it would find peace.

Finally you turned around and walked after Flowey, following him in silence, rubbing your eyes with your dusty hands as you kept going. He returned to leading the way, however he suddenly said “There was someone like you forever ago. Unwilling to just let go of someone who had no way of helping themselves…”

You snorted in response, but that was it. You weren’t exactly in the mood for talking, but it didn’t seem like he was in much mood for it either, since he figured it was story time and you just needed to listen “They found a snowman once, before reaching Snowdin. A snowman that couldn’t move, because, well… it was a fucking snowman. It could talk, it could feel, but it couldn’t move on its own.”

 

“And so they went up to the snowman, and the snowman told them all these things. And when they told the snowman that they were trying to get home to the surface, the snowman asked “Take a piece of me to the surface with you, that’s all I would need.”

 

“This idiot does it. They carry the snowman even through Hotland, struggling to keep itself. Willing to die just to make sure they didn’t lose it.”

 

You laughed finally, looking at Flowey “Really? For a snowman?”

 

Flowey snorted “Really. They made it all the way to the end though… and the barrier broke…”

 

Your smile slowly faded, realizing who he was talking about. _Oh…_

 

“Everyone was freed, and they took the snowpiece away. And while the snowman was around, I asked “Hey, can you tell if they made it or not with your body part?” And they were still smiling, saying that they could feel the warm sun, the gentle breeze. And of course there was no point in talking to it anymore.”

 

“Eventually… a day later, they came back for the snowman. The snowman was thankful for their piece being carried to the surface, but they said one piece was all that was needed. But the human ignored them, picked up the snowman on this little red wagon, and carried it away.”

 

“I wonder how it’s doing now…”

 

Just imagining Frisk travelling all through the underground with a snowpiece made you smile, and it made you think of the amalgamate ash in your backpack. You wondered if it would be able to feel the sun on the surface. Or better yet, you wanted to bring the ashes to its family if you could find them. Maybe they would recognize it… maybe, no matter what, it would feel loved.

 

Just imagining taking the same path as Frisk, filled you with DETERMINATION.

 

“Well, let's hurry up. My dirt's drying.” Flowey broke through your thoughts, and he was right, you had to make it home now. Frisk was waiting for you, maybe everyone else was too if they had told other people.

You had… friends up on the surface who wanted you safe and sound, and you knew that when you got back home you would change your whole life after the events that unfolded while underground.

 

And you would definitely get a dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~ > That awkward moment when you realize that this is the beginning of a toxic relationship~~


	18. And You Two Sang Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello underground! Welcome to another exciting episode of _The Flowey Cooking Network!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I'm going against my own morals for the sake of trying to update yall regularly.  
> > I don't even have the next chapter written out other than the summary, and yet here I am posting this XD;  
> > life's been hectic, sorry for slow updates. x_x

###  **Chapter Eighteen:** ** _And You Two Sang Along_**

You had honestly never been this hot before. And that was only because you had never found yourself so terrifyingly close to  _ hot molten lava _ before. 

Streams and streams of endless fire and lava surrounded you, steam seemed to burst and hiss through pipes, whistling as you passed by, and even though you were starting to sweat through your clothes, you could only imagine how Flowey felt being stuck in a pot of drying up dirt.

After the loss of the amalgamate and the sudden comforting gestures of Flowey, you found yourself feeling a lot more lighter around him, and less burdened and weary. Not so heavy over the previous events that had unfolded for the both of you, especially knowing that at this point he knew he was dangerous too. He had come a long way, just as far as you had, both of you starting to discover yourselfs more fully. Flowey was a strange case, mixed between denial of wanting to believe he had feelings, to knowing fully well that he had them and just couldn’t control them. A flower that could snap in an instant, and then regret every single moment in the next. He was like a coin flipping back and forth between heads and tails, and he didn’t have the option of choosing when to toss either.

But it’s not like you were any different. Sure, you were less violent and wanted more than anything to avoid any forms of violence at all costs, but you found yourself struggling between being bold and being hesitant. Fearful and curious, wanting more than anything to explore and do things for yourself at whatever cost… but not wanting to cause so many problems in the process.

You fell underground with the idea that you had no friends and hadn’t been able to make one since the disappearance of your best friend years ago. But now, well, you figured you had many friends. Frisk of course was one of them. After all, if they were just a co-worker, they wouldn’t go out of their way to smash a wall down for your safety. But after that rather intense lecture of, once again, managing to make a neutral Frisk pissed off at you, you were quite certain that they at least cared about you as you did them. 

Not to mention their caretaker, Toriel, and even their friends that you definitely planned on hanging out with more often when you got back to the surface. You were going to try and be someone brand new. All work and no play can make people like you very dull and as much of a nuisance as Jerry.

 

And even you, someone who was pretty neutral with everyone, didn’t like Jerry. You had no words to describe who that monster was, just that  _ Jerry was annoying. _

 

And on top of that, your want and desire for adventure was slowly calming down… especially learning about the risks that came along with it. Perhaps a simple researcher job  _ wasn’t _ as bad of an idea as you had originally thought. Now you knew why Frisk wasn’t so excited about exploring anymore. They had been there, done that, and definitely didn’t want to go through it again. And now that you had your own taste, it was safe to say you’d retire from archaeology and stick to research.

 

_ “̵A̴n̶d̵ ̷y̷o̴u̸ ̶s̶u̷r̶e̵ ̸a̴s̸ ̷h̷e̵l̷l̴ ̸k̶n̴o̴w̷ ̸w̶h̶y̸,̵ ̸d̸o̴n̶’̷t̷ ̶y̷o̶u̶.̸ I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸,̵ ̷I̷’̴m̵ ̴n̶o̸t̶ ̷d̷u̵m̸b̶.̸”̶ _

 

The reminder of Frisk’s words seemed to be so sudden that you stopped in your tracks for just a moment, wrinkling your nose in displeasure as if you had smelled something foul. There was nothing around you but the overheated world of Hotland, the sounds of bubbling magma, and the hissing of the steam pipes that seemed to run throughout not just the ground but overhead as well. And of course Flowey, who was still leading the way, leaving you behind him to your own thoughts. Even though you felt much more comfortable around him than before, it still felt somewhat awkward bringing up anything personal with him.

You wanted to talk to him about what Frisk had said.

 

_ “I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸,̵ ̷I̷’̴m̵ ̴n̶o̸t̶ ̷d̷u̵m̸b̶.̸”̶ _

 

_ Fluctuate? _

 

Oh, did they mean when you had been  _ saved? _

 

But that was out of your control, as well as Flowey’s. It had to have been Frisk, Flowey said that they were the last person to have such a strong willpower and determination to harness the abilities of SAVE’s and RESET’s, but even Frisk seemed surprised and curious as to what happened. Frisk didn’t sound as if they were the one to have rescued you from death. Frisk probably could have just reset back to before you fell underground too, if it wasn’t for the promise they had apparently made to Flowey that they wouldn’t reset ever again… but you wondered why they hadn’t at least tried recently...

 

...was it because they  _ couldn’t? _

 

_ “̴I̵ ̶s̶h̴o̶u̸l̴d̷ ̷h̷a̴v̷e̷ ̶k̵n̴o̴w̶n̶…̷” _

 

_ “...t̸h̸e̷ ̶m̷o̸m̶e̷n̷t̵ ̷t̶h̴e̸ ̸p̶o̴w̴e̵r̷ ̷d̶i̶s̴a̵p̴p̶e̵a̸r̴e̶d̵ ̴f̷r̴o̴m̵ ̴m̷e̴,̶ ̸I̷ ̴s̷h̷o̵u̸l̴d̴ ̵h̶a̷v̴e̷ ̵k̸n̶o̴w̴n̵ ̶t̸h̵a̸t̵ ̸s̴o̵m̵e̶o̸n̷e̸ ̴h̴a̸d̷ ̶f̷a̴l̸l̵e̷n̵ ̸u̵n̶d̵e̵r̵g̷r̶o̴u̸n̴d̷ ̶b̴u̶t̶ ̷I̶…̸ ̷” _

 

_ “I̸ ̴a̶c̶t̷u̶a̶l̸l̴y̷ ̵t̵h̸o̵u̶g̴h̶t̵ ̵t̵h̵a̶t̷…̷ ̶l̵i̵f̴e̵ ̸w̸o̵u̷l̶d̶ ̶b̴e̸ ̶n̶o̵r̴m̵a̷l̷ ̷a̷g̶a̷i̸n̴,̷ ̴f̶o̷r̸ ̵o̷n̶c̴e̷.̷”̸ _

 

_... _

 

_ “I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸…” _

 

You remembered back at Alphys’ lab after you woke up in the bed with Flowey at your side, asking him who the main character to this  _ story _ was. And instead of giving you a straight answer, he responded with  _ “When you were slowly dying, what did you feel? Do you remember? How determined were you to live?” _

And you remembered not being determined all too much. You remember easily wanting to let go. Life was too hard and too much. You were done. And you told Flowey that no, you didn’t feel much, and even as you felt your soul breaking down and beginning to crumble, you found yourself giving in and ready for eternal release. 

But you felt something else…

 

_ Someone else… _

 

_ “̸I̴ ̴j̵u̷s̵t̸ ̸r̴e̴m̴e̸m̵b̴e̴r̶ ̵f̴e̷e̸l̴i̷n̵g̸ ̷s̸o̸m̵e̴t̵h̶i̸n̵g̵ ̵e̴l̵s̸e̴ ̷t̶h̸e̵r̸e̶-̸-̴ ̷s̷o̵m̴e̴o̶n̵e̴ ̷e̶l̴s̷e̴ ̶w̴a̵s̷ ̵t̶h̴e̷r̸e̴ ̶w̵i̵t̵h̶ ̷m̶e̸…̵”̴ _

 

_ “̵I̵ ̸t̶h̷i̸n̸k̵ ̷I̸ ̷w̵a̵s̸ ̴r̷e̸a̶d̵y̶ ̸t̷o̶ ̵g̷i̸v̵e̷ ̴u̶p̷…̶ ̸I̷ ̷w̷a̴s̷ ̷r̸e̸a̴d̸y̶ ̴t̷o̴ ̸l̶e̷t̶ ̵g̶o̶ ̸b̸u̶t̴-̸-̴ ̷s̴o̶m̶e̴o̷n̴e̸ ̵w̵o̸u̷l̵d̵n̷’̴t̶ ̴l̸e̵t̴ ̶m̸e̷.̵”̵ _

 

_ “̶I̸ ̷g̷u̵e̷s̵s̶ ̸s̶o̴m̴e̷o̸n̸e̸ ̴e̶l̶s̷e̶ ̸w̶a̴s̵ ̵m̶o̷r̴e̸ ̶d̸e̵t̸e̸r̸m̶i̴n̵e̸d̴ ̸t̷o̷ ̴h̴e̸l̷p̴ ̷m̸e̵ ̶l̷i̵v̷e̴ ̵t̷h̴a̵n̶ ̴I̵ ̸w̸a̵s̶.̷”̵ _

 

There was another character in this little  _ story _ of yours, who wasn’t Flowey, nor Frisk… and it definitely couldn’t of been you. So who, you wondered, wanted to save you so badly? If that were the case, then that explained why Frisk felt something  _ fluctuate _ . Because Frisk’s powers had dwindled, and been transferred to someone else. Flowey had said that the abilities transfer with whomever has the most DETERMINATION, and for years it had been Frisk. But even Frisk felt something was off, Frisk didn’t save you from death…

But whoever didn’t want you dying also didn’t bother resetting you back to safety, before you met Flowey.

 

So whoever it was was either using you as a playpiece in a game, which indeed wasn’t true…

 

Or they didn’t have full power just yet, and the abilities were split.

 

You wondered how these ideas came to you, before you finally returned to reality. Your entire body was soaked in sweat and you were feeling absolutely disgusting and uncomfortable. As if on cue, Flowey had finally stopped and turned around to notice how far you were compared to where he was at. He was up ahead by now, and you slowly followed behind him to catch up.

 

“In dream land, as usual?” Flowey asked with a little smirk across his lips, half lidded eyes glancing your sweaty form over in that smug look of his. You huffed under your already hot breath “I got distracted. But anyway, why’d you stop leading the way?”

He turned around slightly and moved his bowl out the way, just so he could reveal a steam vent with an arrow pointing across the rather large chasm between the next space that you two needed to get to in order to move forward. Flowey looked back at you then “These are the steam vents, you step on it and it’ll toss you across.”

That sounded super dangerous, not to mention  _ hot steam was known to, say, burn a person’s skin off. _

 

“I don’t think so.” You simply commented.

 

Flowey scoffed “It’s the only way to move forward, so we don’t have a choice, sweetheart.” He rolled his eyes “Why are you suddenly afraid?”

“I’m not afraid.” You defended yourself and pounded your chest, causing your shirt to stick even more to your skin “I just have common sense, and steam vents in a hot location like this? The moment I step on that thing it’s just gonna burn me.”

“Not by a lot.” Flowey pouted, and you glared. This only caused him to chuckle, and he shook his head quick enough to let his petals sway with him “I’m kidding! It won’t hurt, it’s magic you dumbo.”

 

“Did you just call me  _ dumbo?” _

 

“Look, I’ll even test drive it for you if you’re that much of a wimp.” Flowey said this with his signature smug look returning to his features, and he began to waddle himself closer to the vent. So many things could go wrong here, you thought with a worried frown planted on your face. Either the moment he got on the vent he would be a roasted veggie platter, or even if it did work there was no guarantee that he would land safely across, right? He could accidentally be tossed into the chasm of lava.

You hesitated and reached out “Flowey! Wait a sec--”

“Now what~” He groaned, rolling his head and his eyes at the same time before turning his attention back to you. He was probably trying his best to keep his patience, even though he wasn’t doing a very good job at it. You fidgeted “Let’s try it together, okay?”

Flowey turned himself around so he could fully face you again, bowl, tendrils and all  _ “Seriously?” _

“Remember back when you told me how to get to Snowdin?” You asked as you fiddled with your fingers, kneeling down now before Flowey to get on his level, even though it was apparent he seemed to hate that as his look went sour. You continued anyway “You didn’t want to tag along with me, even though in the end I found out you were in Snowdin anyway as if you had been watching over me the entire time…” As if you hit the mark dead center, Flowey’s annoyed expression changed to embarrassment. Either the heat of Hotland was getting to him, or Flowey was blushing profusely. You had the courage to smile then at this as he looked away “Flowey, there’s seriously no point in us splitting up again. You’re gonna help me from now on, right? And besides, you even said so yourself before I left the ruins that if I really needed you that badly and couldn’t handle something on my own, then if I called you you’d hear me and come to my rescue.”

 

You couldn’t believe this was all just some excuse to go across together.

 

_ “I never said rescue…” _ Flowey muttered almost breathlessly, and you grinned more “Flowey, this is me calling for help and you said if I called you you’d come to my rescue.”

 

“That’s not technically a  _ call _ .”

 

“Flowey~  _ I’m gonna do it.” _

 

“Don’t do that.”

 

“Flowey~!”

 

“Why are you like this why are all humans  _ fucking like this--” _

 

You suddenly screamed  **“FLOWEY HELP!”**

 

“Fucking  **fine!** Okay?!” Flowey yelled back, almost too easily he responded to your fake cry for help with a snap “Just don’t yell so close to me. You’ll make my head explode.” He grunted then, nudging with his head in the direction of the vent behind him “Pick me up and just step fully on it. It’ll be quick, let’s get this over with we’ve already wasted enough time.”

It was funny how things switched up for the two of you, you went from rushing Flowey to get a move on, to wanting to relax and enjoy yourself as Flowey was rushing you. Flowey was moreso concerned with Frisk probably lashing out at him if you wound up late, but to you… you found yourself more relaxed knowing that there actually was a way out now. You didn’t need to rush all too much, there was an escape so no matter what things would be alright.

Finally you could go back to what you did best, taking your precious time enjoying the underground. You knew you were too preoccupied to write anything down anymore. Your research journal was at the back of your mind.

As you did what he had instructed, picking him up in your arms, you carefully stepped closer towards the steam vent that, sure enough, pointed across the chasm but also blasted hot steaming air upward. Once more you hesitated, even as you held onto Flowey. And of course he probably noticed how tightly you were holding onto him, considering he then looked back to you with an arched brow and went “What gives? Just go already.”

“What’s gonna happen?” You tried to ask, though he sighed deeply “I already explained that part to you. You should know by now how I feel about repeating myself.”

You remained still. And he slowly turned fully to face you in his makeshift flower pot, lifting his head to look you in the eyes “Look. You’re holding me now, right? Meaning if anything fucks up then we’re both dead. Does that make you feel better? Knowing we’ll both die if it really is that bad?”

You whined “Not  _ really.” _

“Good.” Flowey ignored you and turned back around to face the other side “Now step forward and let’s just get this over with. There’s a lot more ahead so you better get used to it.”

He chuckled then “That is, if we survive this one of course.”

“Flowey don’t be an assclown.” You scolded and finally moved forward. He questioned “What the hell’s an  _ assclown?” _ But before you got the chance to tell him, with one foot stepping forward onto the vent, suddenly the rest of you went flying. 

 

Like an invisible giant grabbing your leg and flinging you across, you immediately let out a startled noise from the sudden force. Flowey joined in, but you only heard his hollering as you began to land, not to mention when you had pulled the bowl tightly to your chest to brace for impact.

 

You didn’t land well at all, as you had flown through the air as if something literally grabbed one leg to slam you towards the earth, you definitely felt like you were scrambling to keep yourself composed even as you screamed. And once you did land, you faceplanted  _ hard _ , and tossed Flowey in the process, grunting from the force and carefully trying to lift to your knees. Flowey and his bowl rolled off as you sighed out from soreness, your teeth aching from the face slamming into the earth. You wound up with dirt in your mouth, and you spat as much as you could before wiping your lips on your sleeves. You glared towards Flowey who, though wobbling around like he were drunk, was already trying to scrape and scavenge any spare dirt to shove back into the bowl. 

 

You had a need to inform him “Flowey that was NOT safe!”

 

“You did it wrong!” Flowey shouted back, filling up the bowl and jumping into it with a small huff. He wriggled to get comfy, before sprouting his vines to help him crawl over towards you. Almost nonchalantly he began to dust you off with a tendril, like some sort of mother making sure their child was clean and well groomed “The only reason it wound up being ‘unsafe’ was because of you! You probably fucked it up somehow--”

 

_ “Me?!” _ You tried to swat his vine away from it doing... whatever it was doing “You told me to just step on it and we’d shoot across! I mean-- sure we did but that was more like a lift and shove! Are we going to land like this every time?! We’ll be covered in bruises by the time we get to the stupid wall and on top of that I’m pretty sure some of my teeth are loose--”

 

“Did you plant  _ both _ feet on the vent?” Flowey then asked, his eyes dark and hollow as if on the verge of snapping. And you tried to think it over, letting your rattled mind settle. The last you could remember was casually making your way and landing one foot on the vent before it started to swing you across the chasm. And then you looked down to him “Well… no. Is that important?”

 

“Both feet need to be  _ planted,  _ that means both feet firmly placed on the vent.” Flowey retorted, crossing his leaves before his stem as his facial expression calmed(somewhat) “If you try that shit with one leg this is what happens. Your one leg shoots up first and you just fly after it. With your whole body though you’re gonna have a much better chance at landing on your feet than if you try one  _ FUCKING LIMB AT A TIME. _ ”

 

“I do  _ not _ need all this stress right now.” You murmured with a small frown on your lips. Flowey opened his own in preparation to say something else, however he held himself back, sighing out heavily as he looked away “Look. Try and think. If you use your brain we can move forward faster.”

 

He said this so calmly, even if he was still insulting your intelligence. You found yourself shifting uncomfortably on your feet “I’m sorry…” You tried to apologize for your incompetence, even though it wasn’t really as big of a deal as Flowey was making it out to be. Then again, he only reacted in that way because you flipped out on him to begin with. Flowey shook his head as his petals swayed “No, it’s not that big of a deal. We didn’t die. But just try it again, we have plenty ahead of us for you to practice on anyway.”

 

Why did all of this feel strange suddenly?

It all felt strangely  _ surreal? _ This feeling of contentment in travelling with Flowey. Him rushing you as you hurried onto the next vent that tossed you both spiraling over the chasm’s of fire and heat… this feeling of being relaxed as you two talked seldomly. Conversations would come and go, bickering here and there, but in the end it all felt so… relaxed. Was it because you were nearing the end of your journey? Because Frisk was waiting for you on the other side?

 

Because you were leaving Flowey?

 

...Because you wanted to cherish these moments?

 

Eventually you did get the hang of being tossed across using the vents. From one to another, you did so with ease in no time at all. But after so much jumping from one platform to the next, from so many heated air vents tossing you about and irritating your skin, eventually you did find yourself a little uneasy from the swift movements. And out of concern just before you reached the last one, Flowey actually demanded that you take a break. For the sake of your sanity.

“I don’t want you trying to throw yourself into the lava.” He snorted, just as you set him down beside you and you collapsed to rest on the hot dirt ground. Flowey’s bowl of dirt was officially dry, and you could tell it was effecting him because his petals were somewhat wilted from the heat. You were no exception, however you had the ability to sweat. Your clothes were clinging to you, and you found yourself removing the lab coat to wrap around your waist using the sleeves to tie in a knot and make it secure. You wanted to simply toss off your clothes and run the rest of the way naked, but you knew fully well that doing that would only hurt you, all things considered. You’d probably be more likely to burn your skin off without any sort of clothing on it.

“Are you okay?” You asked Flowey. Though it was obvious he wasn’t, he scoffed anyway “I’m more concerned about you. You look like you’re going to turn into a human pie.”

“You’re dirts dried out.” You ignored his comment, reaching over to poke a finger in the dirt. He pulled himself away slightly to observe your motions, before arching a brow at you as you pulled back. Flowey blinked “Not much can be done, the water stations are dried up… but there isn’t much longer before we reach some shade and hopefully a place with some supplies.”

You had an amusing thought “Want me to ring out my sweat in your dirt? That counts as water.”

 

Flowey simply stared at you for a long moment, almost as if he were a computer still processing your suggestion. Even if it was a joke, he didn’t seem to get it. Eventually he mentioned  _ “I’d rather die, thanks.” _

 

“Are you sure the next stop isn’t that far?” You decided to move around the rather cruel idea you had in mind “I just don’t want you dehydrating. If all else fails, even I’ll resort to drinking my own sweat.”

“That’s disgusting. You’re making me  _ want _ to die.” Flowey breathed out in bemusement.

You nudged him lightly “C’mon.”

“It’s really not that far.” He glanced over towards the last vent that would toss the two of you across another chasm, and then past that area it seemed to all grow dark as a somewhat plain looking building loomed in the distance “You see that? It’s a building that should at least have air conditioning. Hopefully with it there will be supplies like water for you, and especially myself.”

“Okay,” You breathed in, lifting to your feet and sighing lightly as you tried to get comfortable again. It probably wouldn’t happen for a long while. The thought of entering air conditioning seemed grande and all, however you could only imagine that the cold air beating down on your sticky and hot body would make you feel even more uncomfortable until your clothes actually dried. You knelt to pick Flowey up, and you held him close again even though you knew there was no need and it only made your shirt tighter than it needed to be. “Let’s go.”

 

And once more the two of you were flung across the lava pits and to the other side.

 

The wave of heat made your mind play tricks on you as to how far the building actually was. Every time you took steps closer to its location, you felt like you weren’t actually getting anywhere. Your mouth was dry, the conversations between you and Flowey had suddenly died down because you just couldn’t stand the thought of talking any more without a glass of water, or anything cool to drink. You let out a few noises of confusion during your walk, and by the time you were actually getting closer to the building, you felt a lot better knowing it wasn’t some mirage and Flowey wasn’t lying to you.

 

Though, you did start to trust him again. 

 

You found this out because he actually showed signs of concern for your mental and physical health now and then. Genuine interest in how you were feeling, even during times when he played the tsundere roll rather well, every now and then he would seem interested in knowing if you were actually okay. Whenever you missed a step and stumbled, his vines would immediately touch your shoulders as if he could honestly keep you from collapsing, and he would make sure you were steady before you moved on.

 

Things were getting better.

But sometimes you would feel your mind wander back to when he had actually… hurt you…

 

_ … _

 

But before you knew it, suddenly you were right in front of a door. 

 

Lifting your head, your eyes skimmed the large building curiously. Flowey seemed to do the same “Yup, just as it was left.” He mentioned, and the door lifted open for you to step inside with ease.

The inside of the building was completely dark, and you weren’t able to see much of anything. An old and rather  _ dusty _ smell floated in the air, it also smelled somewhat similar to burnt marshmallows on a campfire. You didn’t want to wander further in, considering it was already dark as is, and eventually the automatic door behind you slowly shut itself, fully enclosing you both in darkness. As Flowey had explained earlier however, at least there was air conditioning. The cool air definitely made you feel a lot better and more comfortable, and suddenly with the click of a switch the lights flashed on directly ahead. Spotlights shined down on, what appeared to be, a set for some sort of cooking show… all things considered. There was a kitchen-like set up, but there were cameras and audience seats in the dark, all facing towards the set as if it were an actual live show. Or at least what it used to be.

“This looks like the setup for a food channel.” You commented, slowly walking further into the building just so that you could wander into the kitchen. You went to the counter and set Flowey down to let him roam as well, before testing out the sinks. Surprisingly as soon as you turned the faucet on it worked, and almost too thirstily you leaned your face down into the sink to drench your head and hair in the cool water.

 

Tasted like metal.

 

“Sweet release.” You garbled while drowning yourself in the water. When you had your fill you whipped your head back, letting your hair toss in the process and the droplets of water fly in the air. Apparently that was enough to lure Flowey, who was suddenly right beside you at the kitchen sink, and sliding his bowl underneath the stream of water to let his roots and dirt soak. However you made certain that, after awhile, you pulled him out yourself “Plants can die from overwatering too, ya know. Be careful.”

“Bite me,” He hissed under his breath, even though he also added a content sigh “I was as close to death as you were, let me enjoy some  _ sweet release _ , too.”

There was no use bickering back and forth like a old married couple, you decided against retorting how plants can easily get over hydrated, and you left the sink to make your way towards the fridge. You could hear the sink water still running, but as you tried to open the refrigerator door that strangely wouldn’t budge, suddenly it was turned off. A sign that Flowey had his fill, and that he probably caught you struggling. You grunted “Why isn’t it opening?”

“Do you seriously need help with that?” The golden flower asked, and though you shook your head and continued to yank and pull, eventually you did back away to make room for Flowey’s vines. He didn’t leave the sink, but he stretched his green thorny vines all the way towards the fridge to wrap around the handle to both the fridge and freezer, only to be showing the same amount of strength you had. Unable to open the doors himself, he growled under his breath as he tried to force it open. To no avail, of course.

“Is it glued shut?” You asked as he finally pulled his tendrils back to himself, and you checked behind the fridge as if that would help you open the door somehow. As Flowey probably explained that there must have been something wrong with it, you realized that the fridge wasn’t even plugged in.

 

Infact, you realized that there were no cords for it to be plugged in at all.

 

“It’s fake.” You said dumbly.

 

“Well, I guess that takes care of that.” Flowey was waddling and dragging his bowl across the counter space and past the kitchen appliances that were also fake, opening a few of the cupboards as if still searching for things, but soon enough he made a noise that alerted you. Walking his way to see what he had found, Flowey revealed that one of the cupboards had plastic cups, plates, even a case of eggs, milk, and a bag of what could have been sugar. His tendrils began to slowly pull all these things out and display them onto the countertop, and he sighed “These are fake too.”

“So nothing was really cooked here? It was all just for show?” You weren’t exactly amused, but Flowey simply shrugged his leaves as he then took out a large bowl “I suppose not. Not that I watched much of whatever was on the television. I think it was a Mettaton Cooking Show.”

It seemed pretty legit, from what you knew of the famous celebrity. They were more of the  _ acting type _ celebrity rather than the type that did cooking shows and DIY experiments.

As the two of you stood there in silence, you mostly watching Flowey open the egg carton and begin to drop the plastic eggs into the bowl, you suddenly got an idea. The fact that Flowey was already preparing a fake dish with fake ingredients made you laugh a little, but the idea you had in mind was hopefully a fun one. Glancing around some more and rushing away from him, you started to search the other cupboards for things. You did manage to find a paper pad, one rather shaved down pencil, and a plastic chef hat, but that was all that was left in those set of cupboards. The chef’s hat was pretty huge for Flowey’s head, but it would do for the idea you had in mind. Pulling the items down to the counter space, you scribbled on the paper pad while also tossing the chef hat towards Flowey “Wear this.”

Flowey grunted, stumbling a bit to catch the hat and barely saving it from hitting the floor. He looked it over between his tendrils “Um, why?”

 

“Lets take a break!” You said in response to his confusion, putting the pencil down and turning the pad of paper to face Flowey so he could read what you had written;  _ The Flowey Cooking Network. _

 

_ “The Flowey Cooking Network?” _ Flowey repeated as his eyes scanned the page over, then he narrowed them at you “Are you kidding me?”

 

“Come on, having your own TV show would be great!” You tried to cheer him on, though it didn’t seem to work all too much. You approached him and took the chef’s hat from his vine, placing it carefully on his head so that his own petals would balance it “I’ll work the camera and you work the audience!”

“There  _ is no audience. _ ” Flowey murmured, though you could tell you were slowly convincing him, considering he only fixed the hat more on his head without removing it and flinging it across the room. You pouted as much as you could in hopes that your innocent appearance would lure him into the task “Play pretend~ you’re the best chef I know--”

 

_ You tried not to mention Toriel. _

 

“--And you deserve your own show, don’t tell me you never thought about it? Cooking in front of people and having them just awe at your skill?” You nodded firmly, slowly pulling away from him with your pad of paper “Who knows! If the power still works, you could be broadcast all through the underground, right?”

“Highly unlikely.” Flowey mumbled in disinterest, even though he still wasn’t tossing the hat off his head or moving himself away from you. As annoyed as he seemed, he wasn’t exactly objecting, so you let out a small laugh as you took all the fake ingredients and brought them to the counter space that was closest to the front of the fake kitchen. Setting them all down, you then went back and took Flowey in your arms to place there as well “I’m gonna check the camera to see if it works.” You said gently, leaving him there as you made your way towards the dark; offset where the cameras stood at different stations, and farther in the back were all the seats for the guest audience that would watch live. You wondered if it really were that popular of a show back when everyone was underground, the audience seating wasn’t as large as you imagined most stages would be set up to hold-- but you also couldn’t judge considering you’ve never been to a live show for anything even remotely similar to this.

As you stood behind one of the main cameras that faced right at Flowey, you also spotted a small set of buttons that hung on a single cord to its side. You didn’t think anything of it, not even hesitating, as you pressed one… and immediately the whole building erupted in loud laughter. You jumped from surprise, and both you and Flowey looked around quickly as if it were a real audience of people laughing at the both of you, until you realized what you had pressed.

 

“Flowey there’s some audience tracks here right by the camera.” You snorted, though you said this mostly to yourself as the laughter calmed down, and looking to Flowey through the camera you could see how disturbed he had become from the sudden noises. He looked as pale as a flower could be. But ignoring your comment, he simply wondered aloud “There must be a generator somewhere for this building too. Why haven’t I seen any of this shit before, would’ve been nice back at the ruins.” 

You interrupted his thought process “Guess what that means? That means the power  _ works. _ ”

 

Flowey grumbled in reply “Great.”

 

You snorted once more, pressing another random button, managing to get the invisible audience to  _ ‘awww’ _ at his response as you pleaded once more “C’mon Flowey, we should enjoy this air conditioned building for as long as we can before we keep going, right? So let’s do it!” You looked over the recording camera, flipping it on and managing to get the recording light to flicker. It’s red light was a signal that it was on air, whether or not it actually could still record anything you had no idea. But suddenly you saw Flowey attempt to work with your sudden energy as he let his tendrils begin to search the cabinets beneath the counter he sat on top of.

You pressed another audience sound button, and the imaginary audience began to applaud loudly as you quickly held the written title you created in front of your camera. You made a mental note to work more on typography, considering your art skills were terrible and the title you created looked like an infant dragged a pencil around a piece of paper using their mouth.

 

“Hello underground! Welcome to another exciting episode of  _ The Flowey Cooking Network!” _ Pulling it away then, you let the camera refocus on Flowey who, surprisingly, had perked up almost immediately. A grin so wide his teeth were showing as he held two vines up as if he were doing the most generic anime shrug gesture known to man. He even took the fake eggs from the bowl he had set them in and was starting to juggle them. He did it with ease, easy enough to even impress you and distract you from your narrator voice. You continued, in as deep of an announcer voice as you could “We’re back with your host, Chef Flowey! Hey Flowey, what’re ya gonna make us today?”

 

“Why, howdy there~!” Flowey stuck out his tongue, and you covered your mouth in an attempt to not let out a loud laugh as he tried to seem as chipper as he could. He stopped juggling, grabbing the bowl quickly and catching the flying eggs within it before setting it back down “It’s me, Flowey! Flowey the flower~! And I’m glad you asked that,  _ you big douche. _ ” Mumbling the last bit of words and suddenly glaring at you, you cleared your throat to signal him to keep going. As he did, his happy face returned “Today, I’ll be making some… let’s just go with cake! Use your  _ fucking  _ imagination!”

 

Flowey gestured to the ingredients before him, and you pressed a button on the audience track in hopes of it getting the crowed to  _ ‘oooh’ _ in interest. Thankfully it was as you had hoped, as soon as you pressed the button the invisible crowd _ ‘oooh’ed  _ with wonder as Flowey proceeded “For any kind of cake, you’ll always need your three basic ingredients! Sugar, eggs, and milk! Of course we’d need flour too, some vanilla and perhaps a few dashes of different spices but of course we don’t fucking have any with our privileged asses now do we~?”

 

You facepalmed.

Flowey snorted “Cameraperson could you not interrupt my show?  _ Or I’ll fire your ass.” _

 

You pressed a button on the audience track in hopes of it sounding like an angry mob-- but instead everyone laughed at you as you remained silent behind the camera. Flowey was pretty much ecstatic at this point “Now! Let’s get down to business, shall we~? Okay! You want to mix your wet and dry ingredients separate instead of adding them all together from the get go, got it? You would usually require two separate bowls for things like this, and maybe even a mixer! But, unless you have that much time to waste hunting through your local garbage dump for equipment like that, then I guess one bowl will have to do!”

There Flowey began, gesturing to the fake eggs he had tossed into the bowl earlier, and then another tendril grabbed for the empty bag of sugar and the fake milk carton as he hummed all the while ‘pouring’ the invisible contents inside. For a moment, you really did think he was getting into the charade. He seemed pretty interested in it. Whether it was the fact that there wasn’t an actual audience, or that he was in his little cooking zone, you couldn’t tell. But it was as if he had forgotten you were even there. He stirred the fake cake mix in the bowl with a vine for a little, before looking around and spotting a wooden spoon to use instead. He stirred so fast that the eggs were in a vortex gliding along the sides of the bowl, and soon enough one egg flew out and away. You pressed a random audience track button, and the audience started to cry.

“Now now, there’s plenty of eggs where that came from!” Flowey cooed, soon enough sprouting more vines to lift himself up from the counter, carrying himself all the way over to the display oven “And so~ after everything’s been stirred you pour this  _ massacre _ into a cake pan! Then toss it into the oven, like so!” Without even hesitating  _ (or checking to see if it could even open first) _ his vine wrapped around the handle to the oven, yanked it open, and he tossed the bowl so quick into the oven that it was almost a blur. You blinked, having the audience applaud his hard work all the while Flowey bowed for them in gratitude “Thank you, thank you~ you all are so kind! But we haven’t even gotten to the best part!”

You had made sure that the camera followed Flowey all this time and that the red light was blinking, and soon enough after his little mention of the best part, he opened the oven and pulled out-- wait... 

 

_...was that an actual cake?! _

 

It was a tiny little thing, a small pan sized vanilla looking cake, no decorations, it was pretty simple looking. You were completely shocked that it looked like a normal cake, and you looked around as if magic had to have been involved somehow. Who knows, maybe it was?

 

“The best part is the taste test!” Flowey finished finally, taking the cake back to the counter and suddenly he had a vine hidden behind himself. His eyes suddenly looked directly at you, through the camera he simply stared at you with a wide grin and his ‘innocent’ beady eyes as if daring you to do something. You were confused at first, but then suddenly he commented “I’d like my lovely assistant to help me with this taste test, after all, they’ve worked so hard for this!”

You peeked from around the camera then, glaring at him. You called out “I think an audience member would like you to try it.”

Flowey giggled “No, I  _ insist.” _ And without even a warning, a large vine had stretched out all the way towards you and the camera. He wrapped it delicately around you and began to gently pull you closer. Any form of resistance resulted in you being squeezed more and tugged along a bit more roughly, so you simply complied nervously. You still pondered as to how he managed to make a cake out of fake ingredients, trying to figure out the trap or the magic that was behind all this.

 

“Here you are!” Flowey unwrapped himself around you and pulled back, suddenly revealing the vine that had been hidden behind him-- and the tip of it was bright red and flowery. It only took you a moment of staring to realize what you were looking at. The only time you had seen his vine in such a state was back at Alphys’ lab when you two were having sex… so with it’s appearance you were even more nervous. 

 

Flowey was practically cooing at you, a surprisingly low and sultry voice “Now... let’s apply some icing to the cake that I’m sure you’ll love. I do believe I heard you enjoy  _ honey _ , yes?”

You swallowed the lump in your throat.

 

“I’ll take that silence as a definitely!” Flowey snorted, his eyes narrowed as he stared at you, all the while he stuck out his tongue and suddenly the red flower-like tip of his vine began to carefully drip a clear sticky fluid all over the cake he had  _ somehow _ prepared. As soon as it released, you could smell the strong and all-too-familiar scent of sweetness waft in the air, the honey scented cum was dripping all over the baked good. Your stomach churned, but like anyone who had suddenly connected a certain type of smell to a memory, you could feel your shorts getting uncomfortable as you shifted on your feet. It was to be expected, you two banged so much that anything that smelled remotely close to honey made you suddenly shiver, just as you were doing now. You swallowed down your nerves, his cheeks were already getting flushed just like yours were, but he was pretty good at playing pretend too… so you had no idea whether he was serious or not. 

“Here you are. A freshly made glaze just for you.” He commented gently, and then another vine was used to actually slice into the cake. As he lifted the slice upward, it was revealed that… well, he definitely didn’t make it himself.

It was old. Inside of the slice were spots of white and green and black, it looked completely sickening. And not only that, but suddenly the smell of must and mold hit your nostrils… and that mixed with honey made your stomach churn in a whole new way. You were pretty certain if he kept it close for too long you’d throw up all over him.  _ Flowey the prankster. _

“Take a bite.” Flowey insisted, the honey dripped off the sides and down his vine. The top of the cake looked pretty well conserved, however the insides were disgusting, and you refused to even try. You didn’t inch any closer, however he was carefully beginning to lift it and hover it before your very eyes, near your mouth, as if he would force feed it to you in any moment. You were pretty sure that as soon as you opened your mouth you’d throw up all over his nasty cake. Technically, not even his cake… it must have been a cake that was abandoned years ago when everyone had left the underground for the surface.

Flowey’s smirk was unmoving, an invisible brow arched in curiousity as to what you would do. As if you were trying to impress someone and didn’t want to embarrass yourself on ‘live television’. You swallowed down whatever was trying to escape your throat, and you simply sighed out “Is this gonna be one of  _ those _ food shows~?” You teased, wiggling a bit as you forced your face to redden “Flowey… I didn’t think you’d show the public how  _ kinky _ you were. Did you just jerk off on camera?”

 

Flowey’s face reddened just the same, he even hesitated and pulled back slightly, before he persisted “What are you talking about? This is just an ordinary cooking show,  _ sweetheart. _ Why not take a bite of this cake I made you, hm? I recall you wanted me to make you some cake--”

“I’m pretty sure…” You slowly spoke, whispering as huskily as you could “That I asked to see a  _ bun in your oven… not a cake.” _

 

Not like you could get pregnant, nor did you have any idea whether a flower could, but apparently he got the hint and suddenly he had dropped the slice. But as if he were turned to stone, his vine remained lifted in the air before you, simply frozen in time as not just his flowery face turned beet red, but his petals had turned pink from the sudden attention. You snorted, leaning forward and licking the bead of honey that had ran down his plant limb, all the way up to its tip, and you leaned forward and kissed his forehead “Nice cooking~”

_ “F-Fuck you…” _ Flowey managed to mumble, squirming away and finally, officially, tossing his chef hat off his head and to the floor “I hope you’re happy, you ruined my show!”

“Like I was gonna eat some moldy cake, jerk.” You snickered, leaving him to his groveling as you went to the camera to refocus it on Flowey. You made sure to zoom in on his still pinkened face “Any last words for the audience, chef Flowey?”

 

Flowey grimaced, his petals quickly closing around his face in order to hide from the camera. Suddenly camera shy, you snickered as you went in front of the camera and waved “I think we’re done here have a good night everyone and don’t forget to tip your chef with kisses!”

  
He mumbled loudly into his petals, as if muffling into a pillow  **“BITE ME!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Just... Chef Flowjo...  
> > plz imagine Chef Flowey plz thats so cute plz
> 
> > HAPPY ANNIVERSARY UNDERTALE-- and happy anniversary Toby Fox for making such a wonderful game for so many people to enjoy and love and cherish. <3 If It wasn't for this game, I would never have been inspired to write this sorta stuff, let alone meet so many awesome people that I know now. Or even be apart of a dating sim project that I'm in. So thank you, and here's hoping there's another strong year for the fandom, the game, and to you, Toby.
> 
> > also, if Toby is ever reading this... I will die please don't read my shameful kinks.
> 
>  
> 
> > EDIT:: omg reached the 102k mark of words I'm so sorry I apologize


	19. And It Repeated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your fingers trembled as another crack sounded in the crumbling earth, your mind racing with fear. Would DETERMINATION get you out of this situation too?
> 
> Probably not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > HAPPY NEW YEAR! Technically it's 8:30PM for me as I post this, so if it's already the new year for you then YAY! If not then HERE'S A GIFT FOR STICKING AROUND!  
> > **~~holy fucking shit 309 kudos???~~**
> 
> > I made it my goal to finish this chapter before the year ended, as a surprise to remind everyone I'm not dead and neither is this story!  
> > Thank you everyone for your patience! This is kind of a short chapter, but still full nonetheless. I hope you guys enjoy it!

###  **Chapter Nineteen:** ** _And It Repeated_**

He wouldn’t even look at you as the two of you made your way out of the building. Flowey had uncovered his face, however he kept his golden petals curled around himself, perhaps as an attempt at making certain he could not only see where he was going, but so that he still didn’t have to look at you nor would you be able to see him. His tantrum was something you didn’t really care to discuss either, you went on like everything was fine, especially since… well… it was his fault in the end. You were sure of it this time.

From what you recalled  _ he _ was willing to not only try and get you to eat moldy cake, but a cake covered in his… well…

 

His  _ glaze, _ so to speak.

 

Jizz cake, pretty much. No thanks.

 

_ Of course you had a questionable moment of asking yourself if it was really that bad. Considering you had swallowed plenty of his honey-fluids before. _

 

So the jizz wasn’t the nasty part of it all but it was still a bit much to top onto a crusty piece of cake--

 

Anyway, returning to the moment at hand, you didn’t exactly find any reason to apologize to him. You were quite certain that’s what he was expecting, after all; some sort of apology for embarrassing him in front of an imaginary audience. It’s not like anyone actually saw what the two of you were doing, it was all just pretend. And yet during the final moments of the show he suddenly got as into it as you wanted from him, only for him to try and force feed you some rancid food. It  _ really _ wasn’t your fault. But why did you find yourself feeling guilty anyway?

Probably because of Flowey’s looks. He had the mentality of a psychopath but the appearance of a gentle and delicate flower. Kind of like how some five year olds could get away with murder just by crying and pointing to someone else, looks were always deceiving. Someone could be covered in blood from head to toe and the moment they pretend to freak out and blame someone else they’re suddenly a victim.

Just like good ol’ Flowey, sulking and giving you the cold shoulder, making you think that you honestly were at fault when… seriously, you  _ were not to blame. _

 

_ Even Frisk looked like a pretty chill character, until you pissed them off. _

 

During the silent walk, the two of you made it to an elevator that carried you up to a second layer of Hotland. This layer felt all the more hotter than the first below you, considering heat rises and you were now receiving everything (and then some) from the first level you just escaped. The elevator itself felt like it was full of steam, boiling you alive. You wish you could have compared it to a sauna, however you were certain that a sauna was meant to be more relaxing and less ‘melt your skin off’. Soon enough, the doors to the elevator finally opened, just in time for you to evacuate. You practically dragged yourself out of it, gasping for breath that just wouldn’t come.

You looked behind you to check and make sure that Flowey was doing alright. He waddled as casually as a flower could in a bowl full of damp dirt.

Catching you eye him, his flower petals surprisingly didn’t curl up again to hide himself. He actually seemed to perk up a bit as he returned the gaze and cocked his head slightly to the side in wonderment “What is it?”

“The steam isn’t killing you?” You breathed out, as if you had gone on a hundred-mile jog through the Sahara. Your skin prickled with tiny beads of sweat, your hair sticking to your forehead, your neck, and probably starting to get a bit frizzy from the humidity.

“If it were a dry heat, like the first level, sure I’d die.” Flowey commented, waddling past you as he began to lead the way “But thankfully it’s steam. It’ll be uncomfortable, but I’ll survive.”

And that was pretty much all you would get out of him. Once again, he returned to a silent state as he began to lead the way as if on a mission. Which, technically he was. His mannerisms reminded you on how  _ switched _ things had gotten since your call with Frisk. Flowey was on a DETERMINED mission to get you to the end of the Underground, while you were now a bit more relaxed than you had been. What was the rush? Frisk was going to save you, so now was a better time than any to enjoy the sites and to discover more on the monster history you had grown so fond of. Not that you had taken notes recently, which you tried to remind yourself to keep doing.

It was a long (and humid) walk to the next set of steam vents that would kick you across the lava chasms. He waddled ontop of the vent fully before it sent him flying through the air, and thanks to his tendrils, he landed himself safely on the other side. This time, Flowey went on his own, without even bothering to ask if you wanted to carry him this time or not. Like stated, you were pretty sure he was still sour over the ordeal at the television studio.

 

“Flowey!” You shouted at him. Sure, you could have gone another hour, or day, with the somewhat-silent treatment, however the steam vents were definitely something you didn’t want to take a chance jumping across alone. With most of the Hotland area you felt uncomfortable about being left to your own devices, especially considering these devices dealt with intense heat, and the threats of getting severely injured. If not injured, possibly dead from falling into the lava.

“What?” In the same curious yet dull tone he had used on you before, he once more cocked his head slightly to the side and looked at you from across the way. A small brow arched, probably pretending to be confused as to why you needed him when, in actuality, it was obvious why.

“You know  _ what. _ ” You hissed at him, frowning as you looked down at the air vent that pushed hot air upward to the already heated atmosphere “I don’t want to jump across these things alone, you  _ know _ that! Why didn’t you wait for me?”

 

“Oh. Right.” He didn’t sound as if he forgot. Flowey sounded as if he didn’t care. “Sorry about that. Just jump across this one, I’ll wait here.”

 

“Why don’t you fix your attitude, while you’re at it?” You figured now was a better time than any to ask him about his behavior. At least while he’s paying attention to you, who knew when he would return to giving you the silent treatment. “You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder ever since we left the cooking show! What’s going on with you?!”

“There’s  _ nothing _ going on!” Flowey snapped back, huffing and clicking his tongue as he glanced away “That whole cooking show thing was just a waste of time, and we could have gotten through all this crap sooner if it hadn’t been for your need to play with the camera’s!”

“Don’t act as if you weren’t enjoying yourself.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes at his dismissal. There was a pattern here, blaming someone else and playing the victim seemed to be his favorite role when it came to these situations. “You have to admit you had fun too, and you definitely got starry eyed at the thought of having an audience. So don’t try to toss all the blame on me, you’re only cranky because I rejected your prank.”

Flowey growled, throwing his head forward almost submissively “Just get your ass over here so we can keep moving!”

 

With a huff, you yelled once again to reply “ **FINE!** ”

 

“ **_FINE!_ ** ” Of course he needed the last word.

 

You angrily adjusted your bag on your back, taking another step closer, and once you had fully jumped onto the vent it practically torpedoed you in an arch to the other side. You landed on your feet perfectly fine as you moved off of the hot spot, however it wasn’t until you were next to Flowey that you felt a stinging pain on your ankle. With a small huff, you knelt down and checked to see what had happened, and easily you spotted the dark red mark.

Steam burned. A small patch, but it stung nonetheless.

 

“Great.” You mumbled with a frown “I thought you said this thing wouldn’t hurt.”

“Maybe we’ve gone through so many that your skin got irritated.” Flowey sounded like he was actually defending the air vent, leaning his face closer for inspection purposes. A bit of your sock had been rolled down for the sake of showing it all to him, as if he needed proof that you were really hurt and not just complaining for attention. And only after poking it (and getting a painful response from you) did he decide that a little bit of light healing magic would do some good. As irked as he had sounded before, he let a surprisingly calm voice escape his throat “Hold still and relax…”

Watching him use his magic still seemed  _ bizarre _ . Flowey had a tendency to only use it when you were asleep (or in the worst cases so far, unconscious from blood loss), so seeing his body suddenly produce a heavenly glow made you question if this were even the Flowey you thought you knew. After all, you only caught him using it twice; After having him almost kill you, and then after having almost killed himself. Every other time he had made sure you were sleeping, though you had no idea why. 

The magic looked almost like fairy dust, a beautiful golden shimmer fluttered directly towards the burn on your skin, the light that shined from him radiated a rather comforting warmth, and the magic felt like a strange tickle as it mended your light wound. In no time at all, you had been healed, and just like that his glow had vanished as if it never existed.

“Thanks.” You rolled up your sock, smiling down at your covered ankle before looking back at Flowey. His petals curled, he looked away with furrowed brows but seemed to give his little leaves a shrug “Whatever. Let’s keep moving, before you kill yourself.”

You couldn’t help but snort at this, but just as soon as you had thought of a response, you felt the earth beneath you shake gently. It wasn’t rough, it was light yet noticeable. With a small shrug, you spotted the flower widening his eyes the exact moment the shaking began to gain intensity. Lifting up from your knelt position, you managed to catch Flowey sliding his bowl out of the way. It had all happened in what you could have marked as 2.5 seconds; the 2 seconds it took for you to realize that the entire space you were landed on was beginning to collapse, and the half-second it took for Flowey to instinctively dodge. As quick as your responses were in certain cases, this time it didn’t seem to work in your favor as the ground started to collapse and crumble. Pieces splashed into the lava down below, and you suddenly found yourself plummeting with it.

 

Thankfully what you lacked in response time you made up for in quick reflexes. (And unfortunately being too used to ‘sturdy’ landmarks crumbling beneath your feet) You let out a soft yelp as you caught the edge of the remaining land piece. However you just barely made it, hanging on with barely one hand, trying to get your other arm to swing upward. You made certain to sink your nails deep into the dry earth, hoping to secure yourself. Flowey, in his attempt to dodge the collapsing portion of the land, had been shot off through another hot vent to the other side, once again without you. 

 

But thankfully, as if confirming he didn’t totally ditch you, you heard him call out from across the way “Are you alright?!”

 

“Obviously not!” You called back out, however not as strongly as you had hoped. You found yourself worried, stuck between wanting to climb up but also not wanting to cause yourself to fall down. The one piece of edge your aching hand held onto wasn’t as sturdy as you hoped, every moment you tried to swing your other hand up for support, you felt it wobble at your fingertips. You grunted “Flowey!  **Please--!** ”

 

“Hang on, I’m thinking!” He yelled back.

 

“Okay!” You breathed, only able to lower your head and try to hug the side of the rock. You looked down and around, attempting to find pieces of the earth sticking out for you to rest your feet on. If anything, you could find another way to get up yourself. “Take your sweet time! I’m just-- hanging around--”

 

“Please stop!” Of course Flowey had time to get pissed off at an accidental pun.

 

You heard the edge crack then, and it took all of your will power to force your arm to not give up. As fit and active as you were, you weren’t exactly the best at single handed pull-ups. You couldn’t hang on for much longer, and you couldn’t lift yourself out of the situation. Your fingers trembled as another crack sounded in the crumbling earth, your mind racing with fear. Would DETERMINATION get you out of this situation too?

 

Probably not.

 

“Flowey…” You mumbled under your raspy breath, the air was leaving your lungs faster than you were taking it in, leaving you breathless, tired, and weary. You were helpless, it was all up to Flowey now to think of something… and from the sounds of it, you couldn’t hear him yelling out any ideas.

And in that moment of regret, you felt the crumbling piece of rock give way, your only support keeping you hanging on. You couldn’t even let out a scream as you were sent falling down towards the lava.

The heat at your back, you simply closed your eyes and mentally prayed to whatever or whoever would telepathically listen. You could feel that same presence that haunted your dreams before, that comforted you, that broke you, that seemed to wrap around you as you fell. Almost dream like, you found yourself barely feeling the heat the closer you got to it. Almost as if you grew numb.

And faintly, you could have sworn you heard a gentle voice call out, as calm as you remembered it…

 

_ “Don’t worry, _

 

_ I’ll save you again…” _

 

_ Ã̵͇͇̻́́ṉ̴͙̱́̅̽d̷͍̟̭͛̊̒ ̶̼̤͈̍̓̂t̷̨̼̘́͌͘h̵̞̺̲̐͑̚a̸̘͉̹̅̃͝t̸̢̗̯̓͂͝ ̵͚̘̗͂̆̆ẃ̷̡̪̲̋͗ả̷̟͚̤̎̍s̴̜͙̟̈̄͘ ̴̖̟̠͊̀́a̵̺͕̗̍̐̓ ̵̩̹̮̆̾̕p̵̘̣͔͐̋̕r̴̳̟̺͌̈́̽o̶̙̣͗̈́̃ͅm̴̳̻̙̓̑̂i̶̬̗̬͛͂̍s̸̛̜̘̞̾̋e̴̖̭̖̅͑̚-̸͖̼̝̋̔͗-̴̢͖̰̾͊̍ _

 

But at the brink of dropping in the lava below, you felt something wrap around your shoulders and arms, squeezing you in a tight embrace. The grip practically took your breath away, and in that same split second you had been swung back up into the air, thankfully opposite of the boiling bubbling sea of fire. You yelled in surprise from the sudden rescue, letting your legs make running motions as if the gestures would help guide you. Like running on air with the assistance of a bungee cord, what had saved you from death now granted you(what you thought at least in your still racing mind) the ability to walk on air. But the spring of imagination had been wiped away as your eyes finally travelled downward, catching a glimpse of Flowey below. His tiny size in that small bowl of his was slowly growing closer and closer as he lassoed you to the more study earth. And just before you, once again, were threatened with impact of another kind, he used another vine for you to land on, before letting you drop to the ground more safely.

You made an  _ ‘oof’ _ noise anyway, even with the gentleness of your fall. It came naturally, of course. Almost as instinctively as a kid would cry ‘ouch!’ even if all they did was flinch from someone pretending to push them. Flowey seemed to blink at this, however his vines loosened their hold on you, allowing you to breathe more normally as you simply laid there and let your eyes close. You suddenly had a major need to rest.

 

“Are you alright?” Flowey waddled over to you, his voice directly before you as you slowly opened your eyes again. Seeing him right in your face made you blink slowly and pull your head back, but with a small sigh you gave him a nod in response, before carefully lifting up a bit “Yeah, I think so. You caught me just in time, Flowey…”

“You’re  _ really _ accident prone, you know that?” Flowey was glaring at you, and though with a quick glance it looked like his usual angered expression, for some reason you felt a bit of worry and guilt in his voice, and even caught the same emotions in his eyes. Almost as if he sensed this, he looked away from you “Don’t fall behind, I don’t want that sorta shit happening to you, got it?”

It wasn’t that you fell behind, you didn’t react as fast as he did. However you didn’t argue, you didn’t have enough energy to argue with him about something that could’ve gone worse than expected. “Sorry about that. I guess I’m not as fast as reacting to this sorta stuff like I thought I was.” You apologized, even knowing it was out of your control and you didn’t exactly owe him one. With a small smile, you leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his flushed cheek “Thanks.”

 

Flowey smiled, finally returning your gaze, however only to give a surprisingly cocky response “Pretty sure I was  _ promoted _ , I know you can do better than that.”

You arched a brow, smirking back at him as you fully sat up and crossed your legs. Promoted? What did he mean by that? Then of course as quick as you had thought of the question, you also thought of the answer. Flowey considered a  _ promotion _ to be  _ more than just a kiss on the cheek.  _ You then folded your arms across your chest “Oh really? Promoted? After that  _ cake _ stunt you pulled I’d say you were actually  _ demoted _ … why would you think you were promoted? And to what  _ rank, _ exactly?”

 

Flowey had gone from bashful to cocky rather quickly, but from your response alone he had went back just as fast. His face turned pink once again, and he grumbled in annoyance “Tch-- you know what I mean! Just… do it, already…”

Getting him to beg for it didn’t turn out as well as you thought it would, you reminded yourself. And flashbacks to him turning into a crazed psycho willing to kill you almost made the moment feel lost. You took a mental note that, well, if the mood fit and he earned it, it wouldn’t hurt to grant him a reward of sorts. You vowed to not tease him too much, before you leaned back down to his level.

He looked at you, his eyes wandering your face for a second, before they became half lidded. Naturally, he was ready for it, and with a tiny smile you kissed him gently on the lips. For some reason, it felt as if it had been too long since the last time you two had kissed-- almost as if he were now a drug you couldn’t get enough of. You were already planning to deepen the kiss just a bit more, let it last a little longer, maybe even throw some tongue in there… but Flowey had pulled himself back. Just as quick as the tingling sensation risen, it had fallen away as he had.

 

You slowly opened your eyes and blinked, watching the petals around his face unfurl, as if he had curled them up to keep people from watching. You wanted to comment on them, but you simply smiled and bowed your head a bit. Flowey looked down as well, the two of you practically behaving like school kids “Well, let’s get moving. I know you want it  _ bad _ but try not to kill yourself.”

You wrinkled your nose as you stood back up to your feet, following Flowey as he lead the way “That’s not what I want bad.” Your attempt to comment slyly on how  _ thirsty _ you were was almost unnoticed, until he questioned--

 

“Huh?”

 

You cleared your throat and questioned back “What? I didn’t say anything. Let’s get going.”

And the journey continued, thankfully this time it wasn’t a dreary or awkward silence, the conversation was surprisingly light and calm. The only reason you considered this surprising was due to how Flowey had a need to either brag or nag when it came to talking at any given time, but this time his responses didn’t include either of those things. A part of you wondered if he was calm due to what had happened just moments ago, but then another part of you considered the subject matter; It had mostly been you discussing life on the surface with Frisk. Of course while he had questions and answers here and there, for the most part it was a one-sided conversation… all things considered.

You talked a bit about your work on the surface with Frisk, you discussed how you and Frisk graduated college together and decided to work together as well. While the two of you studied and graduated with similar degrees (Monster History studies), Frisk branched off towards becoming a Historian, almost similar to Toriel who was not just a teacher but in charge of taking care of the library’s books and collections of things, and you branched off into archaeology. You also mentioned to Flowey that, while the two of you did work together, you both had different ideas on how to gather information. Frisk often sent you to meet up with monsters for mere interviews, even though you often stated how much, and how often, you wanted to go to the Underground.

You added that Frisk deemed themselves ‘finished’ with adventuring and exploring because of the events that lead up to the monsters release.

 

“I wouldn’t blame them, to be honest.” Flowey added calmly, still waddling in his bowl. However he wasn’t leading any more once the two of you had started your in-depth conversation about you and Frisk’s history “After everything that happened to them down here, all the shit they had to go through, I really wouldn’t blame them for not wanting to be apart of things like that anymore.”

“But there’s something remarkable about discovering new things.” You defended, hoping that Flowey chose your side over Frisk’s “Things that were forgotten, or things that were never found? And when you find something that no one knows about or understands, you get to research things on your own, your own discoveries that make the moments… well, magical. Don’t you think?”

“I can see that side too.” Flowey smirked just a bit, looking at you for a moment before looking back ahead “But I think, unless you’ve been in Frisk’s shoes, you may not understand fully what had happened down here that makes them not want to do that again.”

“The thoughts of adventure for a greater cause is really… exciting to me.” You mumbled, sighing a bit at the realization Flowey wouldn’t take your side on this. Flowey suddenly asked “What do you think your friend had to go through when they wound up down here?”

“My friend?” You chewed on your bottom lip, questioning him and yet knowing fully well who he was talking about.

“The one you told me about,” Flowey persisted “The one you mentioned losing around Mt. Ebott back when we were looking at the castle. What do you think she had to go through when she stumbled down here?”

 

You were already regretting the conversation. You thought that you had made peace with it all, and yet thinking about her was already making your heart ache terribly. It was very clear that she had died down here somewhere, a ballerina fell down in nothing more than a child-sized uniform, how on earth was she prepared to defend herself against the things you were taught didn’t exist? Sure, the two of you believed, but you never expected to find them underground of all places. Let alone within Ebott. She was unprepared when she ran off hiking, unprepared for falling down below, and unprepared for the moment she--

 

_ “Are you still there?” _

 

Souls still linger, right? Human souls are said to linger for much longer periods of time than monster souls… maybe there was a chance that--

 

**“Hey.”**

 

You blinked “Eh?”

 

Flowey snorted “I can assume it’s a touchy subject still, you don’t have to talk about it if you really can’t.”

“Yeah,” You swallowed the lump in your throat, finding your lips being terribly dry. You wished you had packed chapstick when you were preparing for your voyage down below “Sorry, I spaced out thinking it over. You’re right though, I can’t imagine what it must have been like. Especially for someone around Frisk’s age at the time… or her’s.” With a soft sigh of breath, you mumbled “My response was kind of selfish… I didn’t think about the consequences of wandering for ‘adventure’s sake’, and most of the kids that fell down weren’t running off to seek adventure, most of them fell down here on accident.”

“Sometimes, looking for something greater than what you have will bring consequences.” Flowey mumbled all the same, the two of you once more sighing in unison. Probably pondering over lost and long abandoned memories. The sadder thing about it all was the fact that they weren’t Flowey’s memories to begin with, when he thought back to times before he was a flower, before he was Flowey, even… he was thinking about Asriel. Asriel’s memories were intact, no matter how much he claimed he was no longer Asriel, never was or will be, they would always remain as if he were… or still could be.

 

And then, like before, it got awkwardly quiet again.

 

Being left to your own thoughts, and probably Flowey left to his, the silence wasn’t exactly terrible, so to speak. To you it felt kind of relaxing, letting your mind wander back to the thoughts you had before Flowey had butted into your brain. You got to change the subject from the sad idea of being abandoned Underground to the idea of SOUL’s once more.

From your’s and Frisk’s research, the human soul can live long past the physical form, and surpass the lifespan of a monster soul. And while more research is needed on monster ‘Boss’ souls, for the time being it is quite clear that human souls can possibly live even longer than those types as well. So you wondered, carefully, if the soul of your best friend still lurked somewhere underground.

But then you were reminded of something.

 

_ “I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸…” _

 

Something that made you backtrack once again to Frisk.

 

“Flowey.” You cleared your throat and raised your voice, to make sure that he could hear you over the bubbling lava below. He tilted his head a bit in your direction, his petals droopily followed, letting you know he was listening as you mentioned “The phone call I had, the one with Frisk… they said that they felt  _ it  _ fluctuate--”

 

_ “̵A̴n̶d̵ ̷y̷o̴u̸ ̶s̶u̷r̶e̵ ̸a̴s̸ ̷h̷e̵l̷l̴ ̸k̶n̴o̴w̷ ̸w̶h̶y̸,̵ ̸d̸o̴n̶’̷t̷ ̶y̷o̶u̶.̸ I̴ ̷f̶e̸l̴t̷ ̵i̴t̵ ̵f̶l̵u̷c̴t̴u̷a̷t̴e̸,̵ ̷I̷’̴m̵ ̴n̶o̸t̶ ̷d̷u̵m̸b̶.̸”̶ _

 

“--whatever  _ it _ may be, though… I’m not exactly sure.” You rubbed your chin a bit. Even Flowey had a moment of labelling you as a ‘main character’ of sorts. You had the power to  _ BE SAVED _ , but not to  _ SAVE,  _ and not to  _ RESET. _

You were DETERMINED… but obviously not enough to gain the full blown power of what Frisk was, or had been, capable of.

“Frisk knows about the power having been transferred.” You added, Flowey lowering his head then as he waddled onward “Frisk sounded kind of sinister, but also confused. They made it seem like someone else had it other than them, but they also made it seem as if they no longer had it… and, we both know that it couldn’t of been Frisk who saved me, because they had no idea I was even in danger.”

 

You could  _ feel _ Flowey fidget at the memory, you quickly moved on “Frisk probably thinks that I have the power now, but it can’t be me, or I would’ve definitely used it plenty. So either Frisk does have it and is lying… or someone… else has it now. Someone with more determination than either of us.”

 

You slowly lowered your head, almost mimicking Flowey’s gesture, to glance at the flower as he looked back at you. With an arch of his invisible brow and a snort, he scoffed “Don’t look at me. I’m just as surprised as you are-- obviously if I had enough DETERMINATION I’d sure as hell use it to get out of this mess.”

 

You weren’t sure what  _ mess _ he was implying, but you decided to let it slide.

 

“It’s always been a human… with that power, right?” You tried to ask, jutting out your bottom lip thoughtfully “Monsters don’t have determination, so humans always had the power of saving and resetting?”

“I’m not exactly the right person-- _flower_ to ask.” Flowey retorted “When Frisk fell into the Underground, I was shocked I no longer had that power… Frisk was the first human I met, and the only one to have ever had that power for as long as I remember. But from what I recall of Alphys’ studies, all humans had that power of DETERMINATION, which is exactly the reason I could SAVE and RESET… and when Frisk arrived, my powers were gone, but they gained control of it. Clearly that means something, right?”

“Frisk was the only one with this power all those years… and from what you said, it means that the stronger one’s DETERMINATION, then the more likely they are to gain the power. Multiple people can’t harness it, it’s only the best of the best…?”

The golden flower almost gleamed at your thoughts “Probably!” He seemed strangely ecstatic at your theorizing, however his wide grin calmed down a bit as he pondered aloud “So someone more determined arrived in our little tale… someone more determined than you and Frisk… someone more determined than me…” The two of you were close to approaching yet another elevator, that you could only assume would guide you to an even higher and perhaps hotter level than this or the first. You sighed at the sight of it, but soon enough Flowey stopped in his tracks, which caused you to stop in turn and look his way. He lifted a leaf to his lips, assuming a thinking position. For a rather sadistic smartass, the look of him  _ thinking _ was rather adorable.

 

“Say…” He started, and since the two of you had stopped anyway, you got on your knees to relax your feet as you responded “Huh?”

 

“Have you felt anything…  _ weird?” _ He tried to ask, though the puzzled look on your features made him shake his head slightly, his petals waving with him as he clarified “I mean… felt something or  _ anything _ that could maybe be related to the concept of saving, resetting and what not?”

 

He was asking you to try and recall a moment that dealt with… saving… and resetting…  _ before _ you even knew that was a thing?

 

Seeing your even more confused face made him facepalm, loudly-- or as loud as a leaf smacking a flowers face can sound “Don’t hurt your pretty little head, sweetheart. But try to think back, before all this. Before coming down here, before even knowing about the concept… think back.” He peeled his leaf away, then crossed it with the other over his stem chest “When was the last time you felt normal? When you felt as if life were sort of… automated, so to speak? When you felt rather neutral, you existed, but at the same time you… didn’t?”

 

While his words seemed rather strange, you found yourself thinking to a moment in particular. Strange enough, the exact moment before all this occurred.

 

“Oh.” You mumbled, and Flowey perked up as you spoke “Funny thing is, like you said my life felt pretty… bland. Just doing the same thing over and over, on repeat, day in and day out… but the moment I was prepared to approach Frisk about travelling to the Underground I felt-- well, something sparked within me. It was like a strange fire, I never thought about it before, the idea was fascinating but I never actually thought about travelling down here and then out of the blue my mind told me  _ ‘Hey, maybe you should talk to Frisk about going Underground?’ _ I guess I feel like something woke up.”

“Something woke up…?” Flowey repeated as more of a question, though it was definitely rhetorical. “Something… or someo̶̭͚̥̿̃͋͠ͅn̶̘̩͖̣̈́̈̋̎ȩ̸̧̮͕́̈́̍̕…”

 

_ Did he emit static? _

 

Was there even a point in commenting on that anymore? You simply nodded, and he asked another question “And yet… you’re  _ certain _ you can’t reset or save? At all?”

You nodded once again with a little huff. And like before, the both of you found yourselves silently thinking over the discussion. There was something sort of scary about all this, the thought that no one you knew could save or reset any longer, and yet they were willing to save  _ you _ . Frisk felt their power vanish the moment you left, and while they assumed it was you, and Flowey told you it was Frisk… it was all a big circle of nonsense. Either someone was lying, or there was  _ someone else Underground with the two of you… _

 

And you trusted Frisk completely, and thinking back to how badly Flowey hurt himself over almost killing you, you doubted he had the power to save you…

 

With a soft sigh, you turned your head towards Flowey, his back now facing you as he looked off in the distance. Shapes of cities and buildings weren’t too far off, but of course the bubbling lava, stalactite and stalagmite structures seemed to remove the calming atmosphere that Waterfall brought on the last time you spotted Flowey deep in thought. Back there he looked poetic and graceful, surrounded by fire he looked almost sinister.

“Sorry for bringing up fresh wounds.” You mentioned gently, giving a little frown as you nudged him with your hand “About… you know.” You figured having brought up the fact that you needed saving at  _ all, _ let alone due to his actions, might have hurt him a bit. 

The light bump made him suddenly aware of your presence, glancing at you with a rather small smile “Eh? What are you talking about? I’m fine, don’t be stupid.” He looked back over the horizon, and it was obvious to you that he was still thinking about everything that lead you here. All the events that had unfolded just for you to be here at this very moment, safe and sound beside him. You reminded him about what he had done back at Alphys’ lab, and you could only assume he was still regretful of that occurring. However, he still insisted “I can move on from things pretty easily, actually.”

 

Obviously that wasn’t true, you knew he was lying. Though, suddenly Flowey narrowed his eyes at you “Can you?”

 

“Of course.” You smiled right at him, finding yourself sliding your knees on the dirt just to move closer to him. You thought you could, at least… though thinking back to your best friend, you began to question yourself too. Could you  _ really?  _

Flowey gave a somewhat awkward smile towards you in return, and before you knew it the two of you were simply staring at eachother. Looking into one another’s eyes, maybe even searching for something.

 

...maybe.

 

“Can I kiss you?” You dared to ask, and you supposed the silence suddenly breaking was what made Flowey jump a bit, as if he had been scared by something. You thought it funny how the two of you had gone back to asking if it was okay for a kiss or not, but of course it was also because of how you used to kiss him… which lead to certain events unfolding that the two of you didn’t want to think about. You couldn’t help it though, asking felt better than what you used to do… simply attack him with kisses. It felt more… formal.

Flowey’s awkward smile grew, gaining that familiar cocky attitude you remembered“Are you sure you wanna get back on that train?” He questioned, though as you moved yourself closer to him, and he naturally began to lean forward and lift his head, you simply said “Why not.” Before kissing him gently. You found your fingers gracing his stem, gently running your fingertips up, easily making his back arch forward, his head leaning back, and you followed him in almost a dipping motion.

 

And you wondered… who would save your life just to bring you back to this?

 

Bring you back to a person who not only wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, but was willing to kill himself over you, too?

 

. . .

 

_W̷̡̞̗̝̓͒̌͐ę̷̼̰̫̐̀̈́̎l̸̙̬͓͖̽̈̏̈́l̷̡͕̺̝͂̃̿̐.̵̛̫̦̪̟́̋͘ ̷̰̪̱̲̎͗̀͝.̶̡̗̖͕̅̊̌̉ ̸̲̻̦͐̌̐͝ͅ.̴̡͉̗̬̔̓͠͝_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > And now for my New Year's Resolution(that I'm technically making before the new year but anyway-  
> > PLAYGROUND, the whole fanfiction, will be finished within the year 2017.  
> > I've been writing fanfiction since I was probably 14, or younger, however it's always easy to start writing or making something. Is it easy to finish and go through with it? Not at all. I've always written up and dished out plenty of fanfics and yet never went through with completing them. (If you find me on fanfiction(dot)net, the proof is in the archives.)  
> >Technically, if I complete this resolution, PLAYGROUND will be my first ever completed chapter-story fanfic.  
> >THE LAST HEART I plan on reaching a half way mark maybe even by the Summer... but I won't time myself with my stories, I'm just telling myself to at least finish this main one before 2018.
> 
> > I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who bothered reading this. Flowey is... not the most popular. But Flowey to me is life.  
> > *struts Flowey Fanclub pin*  
> > The fact that, as I write this, this fanfiction reached over 300 kudos? Means so much. It honestly makes me feel good that I'm not alone in my interests, whether it's just Flowey in general, or for those of you who are tentacle freaks like myself. XD It's just really refreshing that there are people out there who enjoy Flowey as much as I do. And I'm so happy to be writing this for everyone's enjoyment, including my own.
> 
> >Enough rambling though. I'm making this page look longer than it is and possibly disappointing a shit ton of people.  
> > So, Happy New Year!  
> > Love, Newspaper.


	20. You Felt Them Crawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps they hadn’t even just entered, it almost felt as if they had been around for awhile-- watching.
> 
> You shuddered “Hurry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > This is it for awhile, I need to focus on my personal writing and my other chapter fic.  
> > I've summarized a total of 31 chapters-- however, not knowing myself well enough, I won't officialize anything just in case I attempt to merge or split chapters. XD; Last thing I want to do is promise ya'll 31 chapters then go "LOL NVM ITS 25" or something XD
> 
>  
> 
> > omfg it's almost 1AM for me someone help--

###  **Chapter Twenty:** ** _You Felt Them Crawl_**

Of course the elevator was hot. All the other elevators had been hot, so what made you think this one would be an exception?

You were sulking all the while travelling upward in the box machine, upward to yet  _ another _ higher level of Hotland. You were beginning to ponder just how many levels there actually were, and even wondered how many levels of heat the human body could take before giving up from exhaustion… or simply boiling from the inside out. You really hoped this was the last time you had to climb any higher in Hotland, and as if reading your thoughts, Flowey spoke up “There’s only three levels of this place, so this should be it.”

 

“Thank god.” You breathed out in relief. 

 

The sigh that escaped you afterward made Flowey smirk somewhat, though it seemed to fade slowly as the two of you continued travelling in the elevator, just as the steam began to dissipate. The humid air was slowly beginning to disperse, as if reaching a plane high enough that the heat could not catch up to the machine. And though you were grateful that you didn’t have to deal with sticky clothes and sweaty skin anymore, you still wondered just how high you were now. This time, if you did so happen to fall, how far of a fall would it be before slamming into rock? Or diving into lava? 

Once the elevator had stopped, you still wrinkled your nose at the idea. It was too late now, the image of yourself bubbling in the ocean of fire was far more gruesome looking than going ‘SPLAT!’ against earth.

When the doors opened to present the new layer of Hotland before you, you simply knelt down to pick up Flowey’s bowl as you stepped out onto the solid ground. He didn’t react much to being carried, in fact he seemed quite comfortable with it. However, carrying his bowl around wasn’t your intention anymore either. You were fatigued, sore, and in need of rest-- and while Flowey himself didn’t have much weight to him, carrying around his bowl did. You huffed lightly “Flowey, your dirt’s completely dry now.”

“Well, I’ve made it this far, haven’t I?” He commented back, almost too quickly, as if he had thought it over. His body turned to you as you stood, inspecting him in your arms. The golden flower arched an invisible brow “What?”

“Just hang onto my arm or something.” You thought back to when the two of you worked together in Snowdin-- or at least, when you had tried to. Back then, Flowey took the chance to take control of your body for his own interests. While you definitely didn’t trust him at the time, now you didn’t mind letting him latch onto you. You weren’t exactly qualified to determine what plants could or couldn’t feed off of, however he seemed to eat normal food just fine… could sweat be treated like water? “It’s better than that thing, and if we’re getting out of Hotland soon, you’re gonna need a better vase or… something instead of waddling around in that bowl.”

 

“But you’re sweaty and gross.” Flowey was actually cringing. 

 

Flowey, of all people, was cringing at the thought of clinging to your sweaty skin. 

 

You snorted and winked “It’s not like you haven’t touched my sweaty body before.”

 

Two small vines emerged from the dry dirt, and like hands they moved back and forth as if Flowey were actually weighing the options “Sweat is sweat, it’s still gross no matter what situation it’s coming from. And besides, in  _ those _ situations the heat of the moment gets me through them. By all means I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t focused on fucking your ass and was just paying attention to how much you were sweating, I probably wouldn’t touch you within a ten mile radius.”

 

You pouted “Wow,  _ rude. _ ”

 

“You were practically drowning in your own sweat.”

 

“Okay Flowey I get it.”

 

“And besides,” He ignored you with a snort “Sweat is mostly salt-- sure it’s got water in it, but there’s not enough  _ clean _ water in sweat for it to even be considered a healthy replacement to water. Sweat has a  _ lot _ of toxins, I’d need a lot of sweat to feel properly watered, but by the time you pour enough I’d probably die from how contaminated it is. Hell, if it were  _ actually _ good for you then you’d be better off drinking it yourself.” He looked away “But you don’t, because you know it’s as gross as it sounds.”

“Okay.” You had to agree with him on that. And after all, Flowey used his (still surprising) intelligence to educate you in the process of dissing you for your dumb idea. “Maybe more specifically, I should’ve asked if dampness is better than dryness. I mean, your soil is completely dried out… are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“If I wasn’t travelling with you, I’d be able to move faster.” Flowey commented, snickering. You pouted at this, though without actually answering your original question, he slowly began to pull himself out of the bowl “Not like I have any reason to move this far in the Underground, since I usually stayed in the Ruins. But I can go from the Ruins to New Home in less than fifteen minutes… I’m only taking so long because of your sorry ass.”

“I appreciate it anyway.” You sighed, letting Flowey wrap his tiny roots and vines around your arm, sliding up and over your shoulder and body. He slid himself a bit into your shirt just so the two of you could share the collar of it, his head poked out with a push, his golden petals bounced. “I’m sure you do.” He replied lowly, though he quickly kissed your cheek and added, almost in a whisper “You smell absolutely disgusting and my OCD is triggering as we speak.”

You never took his nit-picky habits as anything close to obsessive-compulsivity. But even in Flowey’s relaxed state you could feel him constantly shifting to get comfortable, but then again wouldn’t anybody struggle to get comfortable if they had to share a sweaty shirt with someone? You wanted to ask more about this sudden reveal (or maybe you were thinking too deep about it, what if it was more Flowey humor?), but you found yourself pushing forward instead. 

“What do you expect?” You decided that you wouldn’t carry the bowl of dirt with you, and not wanting to just let it sit there, tossed it off to the side… letting the dirt scatter before the bowl rolled off the path and into the pits below “Not like there’s a shower close by.”

Flowey clung to you loosely, tight enough to hold on but weak enough so you didn’t feel like he was constricting you. The two of you walked through a less humid Hotland level; not as bad as the previous layers, but still not any better when it came to heat. The humidity was still there, causing your clothing to remain stuck to your skin, but at least there wasn’t pure steam in your face, or pure fire…

 

You had to pass an abandoned table to get to the large cave of moving steam vents. You weren’t sure how much more steam you could take. Your mouth was so dry that you were actually considering licking your sweat. Flowey gave a tiny lesson about what was contained in sweat, and as gross as it sounded, sweat looked mighty refreshing right about now. You even pondered if Flowey could sweat, wondering what it would taste like. You were hoping that it tasted like honey before he interrupted your thoughts “If you keep going now we can get to the resort faster. Mettaton’s hotel should have water, and maybe food lying around.” He glanced your way “And since we got the backup power running, that might mean there’s working showers. Something you’re in dire need of obtaining.”

 

You rolled your eyes “How many times are you going to mock how I smell?”

 

“As long as I can until you smell less like a dead body.”

 

You wanted to question it, but you decided it was best not to. And without even thinking, you decided to push ahead. 

 

Making sure to, this time, take giant jumps onto each ventilation shaft, you were shot across the deep chasms at a repetitive and spinning pace. You were actually starting to get dizzy; dizzy enough that Flowey sprouted his vines to guide your body on his own. Back in Snowdin, you probably would have never imagined allowing Flowey to take full control of your limbs-- but after all the two of you had been through it felt rather natural to do so. Better yet, it felt really good knowing you could trust him enough to give your whole body to him. He helped you do as you had been doing; jump onto the correct vent that would shoot you across. By the time you two actually made it to the other side, you fell to your knees and tried not to throw up.

 

“Euck...!”

 

You threw up.

 

“That’s...” Flowey decided he needed to comment, and you could feel his vines retracting from the rest of your sweaty form. As if your shoulder were the corner of the room, you felt him press himself against it as if trying to keep away from the vomit “ _ That’s disgusting. _ ”

 

“I’m sorry--” You lifted your arm to wipe your mouth as best as you can, your other cradled your stomach “All that spinning… I’m so dizzy and nauseous now…”

 

“I never realized you had such a weak stomach.” The flower pulled at your shoulder, implying for you to slowly stand to your feet. As you did so, you wobbled ahead carefully. Last thing you wanted was to dive into the lava below. He spoke more gently, his vines one again sliding themselves over your skin beneath your clothing(though you could feel his hesitation in doing so). As they wrapped around your legs, he began to walk for you “Take it easy and let me guide you, last thing I want is you blowing chunks all over me so-- just concentrate on not doing that.”

“Flowey, really.” You scoffed, though even you tried not to breathe on him; knowing fully well that your breath probably reeked now. You kept your words, and your breathing, to a minimum as he quietly guided you towards a surprisingly large set of doors. They were wide open, but they towered over the two of you in all their majestic glory. Long slabs of metal and machinery that glowed with neon-green patterns, patterns that faded on and off as if it were a living pulse. It was apparent the doors had been open for a long time, and stuck in their position… because as Flowey helped you walk between them you couldn’t help but notice the caked dust and soot around the edges that faced the Hotland behind you.

 

Not to mention, there were really thick spider webs along the ground.

 

You did your best not to think too much about anything, doing as Flowey had instructed… strictly thinking about NOT vomiting.

 

And almost in no time at all the air began to get cooler. It was rather soothing after having been in the steaming and uncomfortable heat for so long. You even let out a sigh of relief as you saw that, up ahead, there was a rather dimly lit building with a small open doorway for you to enter. Just imagining the shade and how it would possibly be even cooler inside made your senses tingle with glee. The wave of nausea and dizziness was over, you found yourself hurrying to reach the archway.

 

It was unlike the colors you were used to since around Hotland. You were so used to seeing warm colors of reds, oranges, and yellows... that when you reached the purple path that would lead you to the towering black and purple building, you were rather surprised at how much it stood out. It didn’t exactly fit in with the Hotland environment.

“How tacky.” Once again the two of you seemed to be in sync with your thoughts… however his translations of what you were often times thinking seemed more blunt, forward, and rather rude. Then again, it only would’ve been rude of people were here to witness the two of you interact “Why would she choose purple in a place like this? I always wanted to ask her but… not like I can anymore.”

 

You decided to stop in your tracks right before entering the doorway. You thought it was wide open and inviting as you had approached, but suddenly peeking through you could see just how dark it really was. You couldn’t make out a single thing inside of the royal purple building, and to top it all off, the flooring just inside the arch, and all along the outside walls, seemed to be adorned in spiderwebs. You stood your ground, and asked Flowey “ _ Her _ who?”

Flowey sighed lazily “Muffet. This was her main bakesale place. Have you heard of her? She always boasted about becoming some famous baker on the surface.”

“Oh!” You smiled brightly, the memory of seeing her old bake sale flyers when you were back at the ruins seemed to flash in the back of your mind “Yeah I know her! Well, not  _ know _ , but I go to her shop now and again. God, her pastries are amazing~ I’m honestly missing them right now--”

 

You cut off your sentence after feeling Flowey’s intense glare burning a hole in your face.

 

Looking over at him, his vines had all pulled away from the rest of your body, relaxing along your arm “Ah, so you like her shit, huh?”

 

“Flowey, it’s definitely not shit.” You snorted in disbelief, wrinkling your nose distastefully “Don’t get me wrong, you and her are definitely competing over my heart. It’s pretty much a tie between you both but I guess because I haven’t had her stuff in awhile it’s hard to pinpoint who's the best.”

“ _ Ugh. _ ” Flowey threw his head back as dramatically as he possibly could “Her shit’s nasty! But I guess I can’t say I’m surprised you like spiders.”

You casually looked away from him, returning your attention ahead and finally taking a step through the open doorway “They aren’t bad I guess? I’m not going to  _ not _ buy her pastries just because she’s a spider, that’s a little messed up, Flowey--”

“What? I’m not talking about that, dumbass.” Flowey’s image grew darker as you walked further in, the whole building shrouded in a pitch black. The floors were fairly sticky under your boots, and you found yourself swatting and brushing a prickly feeling off your arms and face as he continued “I said you liking to eat spiders isn’t at all surprising-- I mean, considering you fuck flowers-- what else wouldn’t you do--”

 

You stopped in your tracks and practically jolted “ **What?** ”

 

Flowey let out a surprised noise from your sudden halt and yell “What?! I’m telling it like it is! You’re just a real  _ kinky _ shit I guess so it all makes sense you add spiders to your diet but, I sure as hell won’t be eating that for as long as I live--” He then paused, and you could almost hear him sneering “Oh… that’s rich…  _ you didn’t know she used spiders in her cooking. _ ”

“You’re just--” You wanted to say he was lying, it didn’t make sense! Her bakery was full of spiders that helped her with everything she did! She would even snap at you if you were a newcomer who tried to swat at any of them! Why the hell would she put them into her food?! “Flowey you--”

 

“I guess that’s a little fucked up.” Flowey snorted “You didn’t know this whole time that you’ve been eating tiny little spider legs-- I mean, how  _ else _ would you think she gets her cookies so  _ crunchy~” _

 

“Please stop.” You could feel your body start to gag.

 

But he carried on “Must be  _ pretty _ awkward. I hope you don’t plan on throwing up again.”

 

There was a faint hissing noise not too far off, however you easily assumed it was Flowey “Flowey really! You can’t be serious! I’ve been eating her pastries since--”

 

“I’m more surprised Frisk never told you, since the two of you are so  _ buddy buddy _ .”

 

You really wanted to scrub your tongue off with your fingers, but you kept feeling something prickly and sticky along them, so you just tried to wipe your hands on your makeshift shorts. Of course, somewhere along the way to the center(or what you thought was the center) of the large room you had passed through perhaps a few spider webs. Your whole attire was suddenly covered in that same prickly feeling you kept coming across on your careful walk through the dark. You were totally grossed out-- not only that you had been eating the corpses of Ms. Muffet’s co-workers, but apparently Frisk had been letting you all this time. Not to mention, it all sounded pretty delicious until a few seconds ago when Flowey dropped the bomb.

You walked on in silence now, but Flowey was all too pleased with himself. He chattered away, and even bragged about his own food “I bet there’s no more competition between me and Muffet anymore, now is there?”

“Unless you’re also using dead bodies or some sort of gross combination of spices, I think you win.” Your stomach was back to feeling queasy, you held it as you walked. But as you walked onward, the soles of your boots were getting more and more sticky, and it was harder to keep going. The thoughts of eating spiders were already enough, you were even more concerned now that you were feeling spiderwebs all over your body, and not to mention on your shoes.

“Ugh.” You whined, stopping and trying to march in place to pull your boots from the sticky floors. You were able to pull them a bit, however suddenly you weren’t able to move them at all. It only took a few stomps for your shoes to be completely stuck against the floor of the building. But connecting the  _ unfortunate _ dots, Flowey did remind you this place had once been Ms. Muffet’s… so if the floor were covered in anything sticky, it’d probably be spiderwebs. You shuddered “What the hell… the floors are so sticky, and I’m covered in it.”

 

“You and me both.” Flowey made a flicking noise with a vine of his, though the vine slowly proceeded to brush all over you as if he were attempting to clean you off “This place is too dark, I can’t see shit.”

 

“If I’m stuck…” You started, realization waving over you “What are we gonna do?”

 

“You’re not stuck.” Flowey insisted, even though you once again tried to budge your boots, to no avail of course. He persisted as he wiped you down, the stickiness thankfully clearing away “I’ll get down there and see what I can do.”

 

“Hurry up.” You suddenly demanded.

 

He snickered “Excuse yourself.”

 

“Hurry up, please?”

 

Flowey clicked his tongue as you felt him crawl down your clothing, and over your legs. As he did this, not to mention took his sweet time to perform this, you felt some sort of presence enter the room with you.

Perhaps they hadn’t even just entered, it almost felt as if they had been around for awhile-- watching.

 

You shuddered “Hurry.”

 

“I’m working on it.” Flowey muttered, though you could hear the annoyed tone in his voice. To top it off, he was being careful, as if trying not to hurt you, or maybe trying not to get stuck himself. The feeling of being watched soon enough became apparent, as almost hundreds or even thousands of tiny, beady, white eyes glowed in the dark.

 

_ W̶͕͠ȍ̵̙r̸̛͔r̸̹̈́i̸̪̎e̸̺͒d̵̺̑ ̴̥͑o̵̤̒f̸̮̐ ̶̣̚y̴̰̅ò̷̥u̸̡̔r̷̬̈́ ̵̪̓f̸̦̆a̷̲̓ṱ̴͊e̶̻̓,̴̤͗ ̵̑͜ÿ̷̜́ö̶̲ů̸͈r̷͖͘ ̸͚̿s̴̳͋o̸͎̕u̸̲͐l̵͎̋ ̷̖̈́w̴̦̒a̷̖̒s̶͙̀ ̸̞̀t̵̮͆ȑ̵̬í̴̞ģ̴̋g̴͙̉e̸̠̍r̶͍͂e̸̙̒d̴̟̑.̵̳̈́ _

 

There was a pulsing light that emanated from within you. Deep underneath your skeleton, muscles and veins, the bright white light seemed to escape from your skin to radiate a glow equivalent to a flashlight. It slowly brightened, revealing the dark room surrounding the both of you. But just as quick as it had shone, the light then proceeded to fade. You were so mesmerized by the light that you didn’t seem to notice the creatures slowly creeping themselves closer to you.

 

“What the hell is that?” Flowey demanded, he whispered in shock and even stopped his work on releasing you just to climb up your body and stare at your chest. The light once again returned, radiating out in it’s LED glory a bright white glow, before slowly fading and returning the area to black.

 

“I-I…” You wanted to answer, but the light blinded you again, only this time it glowed a bright blue-- and just in time for you to remind yourself of your surroundings. You didn’t know what was going on, but the glow felt all too familiar… a warm and inviting light that reminded you of the moments you had with yourself when you had died. Or at least, when you had thought you did. Watching a SOUL close to giving up, but then watching it mend itself to keep going… you wondered if it was, once again, someone wanting to help you live? Perhaps within the darkness of this place, the same person who gave you a second chance was also making sure you survived the onslaught of, what now looked like, tiny little shadows within the dark. 

 

As you lifted your head and looked around, the blue light faded right as you heard the hisses erupt again. Flowey clung to your shirt, his vines made their way around you, constricting like a snake.

 

“What’s happening…!?” You asked as Flowey squeezed, and you let out a weak breath as the beady eyes continued staring at you in the dark. When your chest-light blinked back on, it glowed a brilliant purple, and it became apparent what was happening.

 

This was, after all, where Ms. Muffet used to live. The glowing hungry eyes surrounding you were the tiny spider’s that she had, apparently, left behind. And every single one of them began to crawl closer, hissing and letting out low clicking noises as if they were machines. It wasn’t like you were afraid of spiders, you weren’t the type to scream if you caught one in your apartment on the surface. You were the type to kindly escort it out of the building and continue about your day.

However seeing yourself surrounded, and the light of your soul fading in and out at inconvenient times, and random colors, made your body go numb.

 

Either that, or Flowey’s hug of death was making you numb.

 

Either way, you found yourself suppressing a sudden urge to yell in total fear. But just as your soul glowed red, suddenly the swarm of spiders began to climb over you. Without Flowey’s help, your boots were still stuck to the webbed floor, leaving you completely helpless as you shimmied and waved to try and fling them off of you. You could feel their tiny fangs nipping and biting any part of exposed skin, and if they weren’t doing that, some were wrapping you up in more web as a means of cocooning you.

 

The last thing you wanted was to be a snack saved for later.

 

“Fuck off!” Flowey was having a hissing contest with them, his own vines that had securely wrapped around you were waving and flailing to smack them off in waves. The spiders would yelp from being hit, and watching them fly in such dramatic lighting felt almost unreal. But being distracted by not only their web, but being bitten, and even watching them fly about from Flowey’s attacks, almost caused you to miss the weight lifting off your back.

 

They were taking your backpack.

 

“Hey!” You yelled, now you thrashed even more than before. This caused Flowey’s grip to loosen, and as the spiders swarmed and pulled themselves away, you could see in the green light as a large group carried your bag away from you. That thing had your journal! It was something you needed, or else everything that had happened since coming down here would all be for--

 

The light of your soul glowed yellow then. You batted your eyes and watched as Flowey swiped and smacked at the spiders. _He did his best to protect you._

 

Why were they biting you? Were they really  _ that _ hungry?

 

“ **Wait! Listen!** ” You yelled out, just in time for Flowey to have picked his last straw. He snapped, the vines that held onto you had all retracted, just to turn into thorn covered swords as he leaped off of you and prepared to dive into the swarm, screaming bloody murder “ **I’LL RIP OF YOUR LEGS AND SHOVE THEM DOWN YOUR--** ”

“Flowey wait!” You lifted your arms, snapping them free from the spider silk that tried to constrict you, and you snatched for Flowey mid-air. Yanking him back, from the sudden motion his vines had shifted back into limp tendrils as you held onto him. The spiders continued to sway and swarm in large groups all along the floor, still fairly close to you, however they thankfully climbed off your body at your yell, their hissings and gnawings calmed down even as their bodies wriggled around. You breathed out tiredly “Just wait, Flowey… please.”

He gave you a look of disapproval, but simply returned his glare to the spiders silently. That was it, he obeyed surprisingly easily.

“If you guys are hungry, I have… food in my bag.” You stammered nervously, nudging your head in the direction of the backpack that the spiders were already digging through. Opened up, your notebook and belongings, including all the food that Flowey had made and stashed in your bag for you, was presented. In a single file line, all the spiders started to break away at the edibles and pretty much distribute it evenly. Thinking about it, it all made sense-- in a weird sort of way. You have yet to meet a spider that would spot a human and quickly try to bite at them. There had to be a reason behind everything, right?

“What the hell?!” Flowey growled “You guys were just starving?! You were gonna eat us ‘cause you’re fucking  _ starving?! _ ”

“It’s not like they have anywhere to go down here that will provide food.” You tried to defend them, and he once again glared at you before looking to the spiders silently. You watched as they all quietly chewed and ate their tiny morsels. Even though the portions were small, they were apparently satisfied enough finish their meals more calmly, and in silence. There was nothing but the sounds of tiny nibbles and chewing, and soon enough that was the end of your food stash. And to be honest, while you had been watching them, your stomach had been grumbling in jealousy.

The spiders made the same clicking noises as they had done earlier, though these sounds were soft and light, as of amongst themselves. Some form of communication between them that, perhaps if you knew something about morse-code you’d be able to understand what they were saying. You were mostly taking the time to catch your breath as well, after everything that had happened, and their hungry bites leaving numb marks all over your already sore skin, you felt totally drained. Even though you tried to have Flowey let his guard down, he squinted at them as if they were now the prey, and he had one vine up and ready… daring them to strike.

 

The spiders, soon enough, came to some sort of agreement you presumed. A few of them began to carefully approach again, before unwinding the webbing around your boots and legs, helping to release you. 

 

With a relieved sigh, you wiggled your boots to freedom. Careful not to stomp on any of the spiders, you hesitated to do anything else for a moment. However, when they didn’t exactly lunge for you again, made your way to your open backpack. Of course, you only had the light of your soul to guide you, and with its constant fading in and out, as well as changing color, it didn’t help much with aiding your sight. But soon enough, you got to your pack and knelt down, shoving your journal into the bag. Your bag, other than your books and journal, was now empty of food. Flowey noted this and sighed “This is the thanks I get, giving you food for yourself and you share it with spiders, of all things.”

“They were hungry, and would’ve eaten us instead if it wasn’t for your stuff.” You smiled, and as you stood back up to your feet and placed your backpack over your shoulders, the spiders crawled back towards you, surrounding you in a circle of crowded and beady eyes. Wriggling again as if excited, they looked a lot less menacing now… and surprisingly, more cute and innocent.

“What are we going to do…” You gave a sorrowful smile down at them, knowing fully well you couldn’t just carry them all with you. Noting their curious gaze, it was easily understood that, after having fed them, they sought for much more help than hunger now. 

 

You wondered why they were still here, and why Ms. Muffet had abandoned them.

 

“We’re supposed to be getting  _ you _ out of here, not them.” Flowey answered, his hold on you loosened as he returned to resting against your shoulder “What do you think we can do?”

 

You thought it over, knowing that their eyes that looked up to you were hoping for some way out. In a sense, they looked to you for guidance, as if you were a leader now. You could only imagine that they had no one but Muffet while everyone was Underground, and with her being gone, and Flowey only hiding in the Ruins, they hadn’t seen anyone else but each other for a long time.

 

In the white light that emanated from your chest, you watched one spider in particular carefully carry a folded napkin towards you. It approached your boots, looking over them for a moment, before looking back up towards you and bouncing to try and reach. You snorted at the rather cute act, and you bowed down to take the napkin. Opening it up, your eyes widened at the reminder.

You had forgotten you were carrying the amalgamates ashes.

 

“Oh.” You gave a hurtful smile “Thank you.”

 

You could tell Flowey wasn’t exactly sure what to say in the moment either, the two of you simply looked over the napkin as you folded it back up and carefully returned it to your bag. The reminder hurt your heart, and coincidentally, even your soul glowed blue and illuminated the room in mourning. But the reminder also gave you an idea. That, even though you couldn’t help them out, you knew what had to be done.

“Listen to me.” You started, looking to Flowey who returned the gaze, except his was mostly in confusion. With a small nod you started off “Flowey can cook, he’s an amazing chef. He can make food for you from now on--”

“What?!” The golden flower practically screamed, but it apparently was enough of a promise for the spiders to all sway and dance happily. They ignored Flowey’s annoyed protests, and they emitted clicking noises. The clicking noises sounded, which you finally figured out was their attempt at clapping and applauding. With a new smile of confidence, not to mention knowing that they actually understood you, you nodded again “Since you all are Underground together, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help! But also…”

You looked away, just in time for Flowey to mutter “I’m not cooking for these asses.”

 

“That’s only if we can’ t help you guys out of here.”

 

Flowey paused, and the spiders all froze the same. Everyone’s eyes laid on you, whether it were from wonder or from shock you had no idea. You cleared your throat, as nervous as you were feeling with the attention you were receiving, you also felt so much passion, you couldn’t help yourself. “Ms. Muffet didn’t abandon you, I don’t think she’s the type to do something like that. I don’t know her well, but she treats all her spider workers with dignity and humility.”

“She uses them for her cupcakes.” Flowey tried to remind you in a mumble, and you waved him off with your hand as you kept onward, the room glowing purple “She might not even know that all this time you were down here struggling to survive! And if you guys are really hungry and trying to live day to day, year to year… it’s time to get out of here, right?” The spiders had all started to look at one another, as if you were losing them, but you tried further “The barrier was lifted! Years ago! You remember, right? Muffet must have came in announcing it as everyone was gathering their things! There’s nothing holding you guys back! We’re on our way to where the barrier was once held-- to the castle!”

“New Home.” Flowey said gently. You wondered if he was correcting you, however his almost distant eyes told you otherwise. You sighed contently “New Home…” before looking back to them all “I can’t carry you all, there’s only so much I can do but… but when I get out of here, I’ll make sure you guys get help! I promise!”

 

The spiders were all quiet, shifting and moving about as if communicating in some sort of dance together. No clicks, not even the glows of their eyes could be seen as they scattered about. But suddenly you realized what they were doing. Using their own tiny bodies, they started to form a shape together... A shape of words.

 

On the floor, as the light of your soul faded back on, was the question:

 

_ PROMISE? _

 

_ Ugh _ , so much cute and terror bunched into what felt like hours. You weren’t sure you could take much more of this. “I promise!” You repeated and smiled, more proudly than before “We’re all gonna be saved! I promise!”

The crowds of spiders all started to cheer. Their clicks and tiny applauds came out. You couldn’t help but try and clap with them, however Flowey was left silent on your shoulder. You knew he would chew your ear off later considering the choices. Either they would all be free from the underground, or Flowey was a permanent chef for them from now on. For the spiders it was a win/win situation, but for Flowey it was lose/lose. 

 

He didn’t get to leave with them, and even if they stayed, he’d have to cook for them forever. 

 

But he finally voiced his opinion gently, as you finally started to walk towards the exit “I mean… if it’ll keep them from trying to eat or kill me, then sure I will…” He glanced to you “Cook for them, I mean. Obviously if they get to leave then… I won’t have to.” Flowey huffed under his breath, trying his best to sound more annoyed than hurt “In that case, I sure as hell hope they get out of here.”

 

Another ‘heat of the moment’ speech, where you didn’t exactly choose your words carefully. You had promised them either a free meal with Flowey, or complete freedom when you reached the barrier wall. Of course, you had said this without realizing it, having neglected Frisk’s words of not allowing Flowey on the surface.

 

Whether the spiders would leave or not, Flowey would still have to stay.

 

Your heart ached for him, it really did. You wondered if he really was ready to live on the surface with you. There was nothing that you could do when it came to living down here, your whole life was up above, and the Underground was all Flowey had ever known. Other than the few forgotten memories of Asriel’s past that Flowey probably thought about now and again, what other memories did he have? Flowey himself never came above ground. And the worst thing is, even when you left, he still wouldn’t get to because of a promise Frisk made to Asriel to not let Flowey go.

You knew, as strict as Frisk was being, it hurt them just as much. You wondered how badly it hurt Frisk when they left the underground. How badly it must have hurt knowing they saved everyone's life but Flowey’s. Knowing they couldn’t bring Asriel back, and even his essence was forced to live in solitude for the rest of his life.

 

You didn’t realize that all these thoughts were making your eyes water. You had a frown stuck on your face, and without realizing it you and Flowey were already on the other side of the building. Back on solid (and not so sticky) concrete, there was a purple brick wall that continued on towards, what looked to be, a stage. And against the purple wall you found an abandoned Mettaton poster. 

You felt somewhat amazed at this, having forgotten that such a celebrity had started off Underground. Whenever you talked with Alphys or Papyrus, they were the ones who seemed quite fond of the famous actor. He was a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ type of celebrity after all, he had the uncanny ability of pleasing all forms of the entertainment industry; not only did he have a cooking show, but he was an actor and a model all rolled into one. You saw him on TV now and again, and while you were a fan of his, you weren’t a big enough supporter to collect much merchandise like Papyrus seemed to do.

The more you thought about them, and how little you knew about most of the monsters who bothered to be in your life, the more sad you became. The Underground experience you’ve been through had taught you that, hopefully, there were people willing to be your friend if only you would let them. The fear of them vanishing from your life, like your best friend had, melted away at the sheer thought of going out with them all. For once, you would try and befriend everyone.

 

_ But… _

 

_ “̶W̸e̵’̶r̷e̵ ̵a̴l̴l̷ ̸g̴o̷n̸n̸a̸ ̷b̴e̶ ̴s̸a̴v̶e̶d̸!̶ ̶I̴ ̶p̵r̴o̶m̸i̷s̷e̶!̵”̶ _

 

_ You were such an idiot. _

 

_ “̶I̸ ̷d̴o̸n̵’̶t̶ ̷w̵a̸n̷n̶a̵ ̶l̸e̴a̷v̴e̷ ̵y̴o̵u̴ ̶h̶e̷r̷e̷…̵ ̷”̷ _

 

_ ̷“̶B̷u̴t̸ ̸I̶ ̸p̶r̴o̷m̵i̷s̵e̷d̷ ̵A̴s̷r̴i̷e̷l̷-̸-̶ ̶I̷ ̵p̷r̵o̵m̷i̶s̵e̶d̷ ̵y̷o̷u̸!̷ ̶I̴ ̷h̴a̶v̴e̵ ̵t̶o̵ ̸k̴e̷e̷p̷ ̸e̸v̶e̶r̸y̷o̷n̵e̴ ̴s̵a̵f̸e̵ ̵f̸r̵o̵m̶ ̸n̸o̷w̶ ̶o̸n̶ ̶a̷n̵d̴…̸”̴ _

 

“You’ve been staring at that poster for awhile.” Flowey spoke rather gently, breaking you away from your thoughts as you looked to him. Blinking back your tears, you did your best to hide them and turn your head away again “Sorry, I guess I just got lost in… I was thinking that… about what I--”

Flowey let a vine carefully wrap around your head, making you turn back to look at him. You obeyed, bowing your head almost submissively as he used his leaf to brush over your cheek, catching a tear before it fell down your face “What’re ya crying for? Stop that.”

“I’m sorry… I just…” His words only made it hurt more. At the end of the road, everything that happened between the two of you wouldn’t matter. “I just don’t… I don’t know why I said that back there--”

“Look,” He breathed out, flicking his leaf away before returning it to press against your cheek. Both his leaves cradled your face in a cupping motion then, keeping you looking towards him so you couldn’t look away “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Alright? You and I both know you’re an ugly crier.”

 

You snorted, lifting your hands to try and wipe at your eyes. A mixture of embarrassment but relief that he broke the emotional aura with a bit of comedy… if he were joking, at least. You gave a tiny nod, and he continued to hold your face gently “You don’t have any good reason to cry--”

 

_ But you do. _

 

“--and I’m not the best person to console someone…” He tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowed “We’re almost at the hotel, it’s not that far now. We can rest soon.”

 

As he pulled his leaves away, you leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. 

 

It was so sudden, it came as no surprise that Flowey had jumped a bit in reaction. But he didn’t pull away, and you could feel his form soften against you. His tendrils shuddered along your shoulder, gently stretching to spread across your frame, all the while you pushed forward to try and deepen the kiss you gave. You wondered why the saddened mood had brought this out of you… maybe the thought of never getting to be with Flowey when you left? Maybe for clarification that everything happening was real?

 

Maybe you wanted to drown away the pain and replace it with pleasure and bliss…

  
Flowey pulled himself back a bit then, his face flushed as he released breathless gasps. Using his leaves to cover his mouth, he looked away from you and mumbled “You still taste like vomit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Flowey is a mood killer--  
> > Flowey: "The real mood killer is vomit. Please refrain from throwing up and proceeding to kiss your significant other before rinsing out your mouth--"  
> > Gaspe, you said significant other
> 
>  
> 
> > *flowey proceeds to scream into the distance*


	21. Almost Lost It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Self-aware meaning… well, I know what we are and everything we are. Without sounding full of it, I know everything. Being self-aware is… not something a lot of people are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >This is somewhat of a short chapter. I had this ready as a 'recap' like chapter, not just for readers but for myself.  
> >(Reminder that I wrote out an outline for each chapter long before actually writing it so bear with me.)

###  **Chapter Twenty-One:** ** _Almost Lost It All_**

“Because you define you, no one else does. No one, or thing… just you.”

 

Flowey had said this in a surprisingly calm manner. After you had cried your eyes out in front of him for promising the spiders freedom but not Flowey, and even after the strange ordeal with your SOUL, he was calm. Simply, and unconditionally, relaxed to a point of you even questioning if he were high or not.

 

“That doesn’t explain anything.” You replied, still a little worked up from the events that had unfolded. Your eyes were irritated and a bit puffy from your cry earlier, your body sore and aching from the spider bites, and Flowey’s comment about the kiss you two shared still tasting like vomit made you also concerned about your breath. It was as if everything had been pushed back to square one; back when you had first started developing feelings for him. But once again you had to ask yourself if it was really worth it or not. Was it worth it to like him as any more than just a friend? Was it worth it to risk being killed by him again? Was it truly worth it all? “That doesn’t explain why my soul was glowing like a weird beacon at Muffet’s place.”

 

“It explains as much as you let it, dumbo.” Flowey retorted. Now the insults were coming back, his calm demeanor remained but at least he was slowly turning back to normal “If you overthink it, it just gets complicated. You’ll melt your brain.”

“I just want a simple answer.” You sighed, really hoping that he would actually give it to you “Something simple that I can wrap my head around, something that makes sense. Is that too hard to ask?”

“Maybe.” The golden flower snorted “Try to think of it this way; you’re a videogame character—or storybook character—and you, being the main one, have special powers or abilities or whatever that no one else has. Think of it as the typical ‘main character trope’.”

“Ugh.” You were getting tired, and sick again “Again with the whole main character thing?”

 

“Things are happening to you that even I can’t understand, so what other explanation is there?” Flowey tried once more “There’s someone who wants you alive, and not just that, someone who wanted you to know your soul is… what… a multi-soul of sorts. Someone or  _ thing _ is trying to get you to understand who you are. And while I’ve never seen or met anyone with a soul like yours, I know it must mean something if your soul is filled with all these different things…”

Suddenly you had stopped in your tracks, trying to figure out what these things meant. This was something that, you realized, happened quite often ever since you wound up trapped underground. Having to think about your survival skills, having to think about the dreams that started when you first began your journey… thinking about Flowey as a companion… so many things had happened to you during your journey that left you standing in place no matter how far you walked or ran.

 

_ And it all started the moment you asked Frisk about going Underground. _

 

_ It was the same day you felt, strange enough, as if you were  being watched. _

 

“Souls linger after death.” You commented, almost dumbly as Flowey looked up at you. The two of you were now simply standing right before, what you presumed to be, the Mettaton Hotel that Flowey had been talking about. Thanks to the backup power being started, you could lay witness to all the flashing lights and neon signs that were displayed all across the building. It definitely felt Mettaton themed, especially since the celebrity was very much a flashy character on the surface. It was somewhat refreshing knowing he hadn’t changed since leaving the Underground. His popularity had simply grown.

“Human souls, yes.” Flowey replied, just as quietly as you had commented.

 

Was there any more that needed to be said?

 

Your thoughts were racing, trying to find an answer that connected everything together. Souls lingered after death, at least, the human soul did. All the souls that were down here before… all the humans that died trying to find a way out… including your best friend.

 

_ Souls linger after death. _

Did you get it, though?  _ No. _

 

“My head hurts.” You sighed, now dragging yourself towards a bench that sat right outside of the hotel. The coolness that pushed towards you and Flowey through the hotel doors was a sure sign that there was air-conditioning, and that was enough for you at the moment. You collapsed onto the bench that  off to the side by the front doors of the building. It was worn, but enough to support your body weight. Flowey was in your hands at this point, not wanting to keep himself stuck to your body after the spider encounter, however he crawled and uncoiled himself from you so that he could make it to sit on the bench as well. He was overdue for a new flower pot anyway, there was a good chance at finding him something new inside the hotel.

“It’s a lot to think about.” Flowey smiled “Don’t hurt your pretty little head.” And with that, he even stretched out one of his roots to pat your hair. You didn’t even try to fight or argue.

When you had decided to become a historian—well, when you decided to claim yourself as an ARCHAEOLOGIST that studied Monsters… for some reason you failed to realize that magic would be involved. And now you were involved in a whole new world of powers beyond your own comprehension. A soul that Flowey had called ‘multi’ resided within you, strong enough to shine in the dark, and strong enough to keep you from death.

 

Your brain hurt.

“My brain hurts.” You said your thoughts aloud.

 

“We can rest inside whenever you’re done questioning your life’s worth.” Flowey snickered, though he himself was slowly loosening up as he sat there on the bench beside you. He looked tense at first, perhaps it was because he had mostly been in ground when he wasn’t in a pot, vase, or bowl… but it was strange looking at him uprooted and sitting on a bench like a normal person. Flowey looked somewhat awkward trying to position his many roots and tendrils that coiled and moved with his base, but soon enough they all had unfurled as he relaxed, and so did you. You felt a lot better sitting close to air-conditioning, breathing fresh air was soothing. And letting your body rest, even for a moment, was nice. Pushing aside the millions of thoughts you still tried to figure out about yourself and… well, the powers of the Underground… your mind wandered to another place.

 

Your mind wandered to Frisk, and how pissed off they had been at you. Pissed and worried, and of course as assertive as ever. They sounded annoyed, but at the same time they wanted to make sure you would make it okay.

And yet, you were starting to have doubts.

Doubts that Frisk would even bother with you after everything you had done. Doubts that they would wait for you, let alone destroy a whole wall just to help you get out. You even figured they probably had given up by now, not having given you a second thought after the phone call had ended. Perhaps enjoying their solitude without you, with their many friends and family, the loved ones they had.

After all, you were a nobody… what reason would Frisk have to help you? You were a colleague, a co-worker who often got on their nerves than anything else. You two shared plenty of positive moments of course, but the negative, such as the one you were in now, felt heavier.

 

_ They probably hated you, at this point. _

 

“Are you alright?” Flowey’s gentle voice had snapped you out of your void. Almost as if you were truly in the dark, the light of the hotel behind you glimmered brightly, like a beacon calling you back to reality. The air-conditioned breeze also gave you a chilled reminder of where you remained.

“Yeah, I think so…” You said, more nervous than certain. Frisk didn’t seem like the type to actually hate anyone. They either liked someone or they were indifferent to them. But a part of you considered yourself an exception.

“So, you don’t know if you’re alright or not.” Flowey questioned you yet again, and you sighed “Flowey, really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?” He dared.

“A lot.” You forced.

 

Flowey had turned his head to you, looking up at you with squinted beady eyes. You knew fully well he was trying to get something out of you, but suddenly you found yourself in no mood to talk. Even after he had comforted you before and told you everything would be okay… now you just weren’t sure. Would everything really be okay?

 

And suddenly time seemed to pass rather quickly, and the silence was deafening.

 

“Do you think they hate me, Flowey?” You finally asked. It wasn’t an immediate question, by the time you figured you’d answer Flowey it had been a few minutes of silence and him simply staring at you in hopes of something happening.

Of course he then asked “They  _ who?” _ with which you replied, letting out a heavy sigh “Frisk, who else.”

“Why the  _ hell _ would they hate you?” The flower gave you a puzzled look, arching a nonexistent brow as you leaned back against the seat. You felt relaxed, your mind was less confused, and yet now the hurt seemed to return again. The thoughts of Frisk being so pissed off at you that they would be willing to ditch you made you terribly upset. You could still remember the phone conversation, clear as day, that Frisk almost did. You remember Frisk giving you a firm confirmation on your mistakes, before claiming you were trapped and they couldn’t get you out. “After all that I did against their wishes, I think it would make sense if they did… I deserve it.”

“You’re only human.” Flowey clicked his tongue, though he backtracked “I mean, anything living is bound to make mistakes… monsters, humans, well… me.” He turned his head away quickly, his petals following with a sway “I don’t make mistakes often I guess but I know what it’s like to think  _ ‘Wow, someone really fucking hates me now!’ _ .”

 

Suddenly though, Flowey had lowered, shaking his head gently and letting out a low chuckle “Not Frisk, though.”

 

A part of you felt as if you had been through this before, as Flowey mentioned “I stole all the souls of the Underground, thus killing all of their friends in an instant… all these innocent people, even when I made up for it to break the barrier, I kept asking myself… ‘Does Frisk hate me?’ And you would think… probably. Who wouldn’t hate someone who… hurt them.” A bit of his head had tilted then, in your direction. Knowing fully well it was him also mentioning what he had done to you, you lifted a hand and delicately caressed his petal. It was light, it was quick, and soon enough his head had recovered and he pulled away “Twice I tried to destroy everything. Twice I took the lives these monsters. And yet both times… each time… they forgave me. And even now… I know I’m not down here because they hate me. No, I don’t think Frisk even knows hate to be honest… I’m down here because they made a promise, they were worried, concerned… I know that…”

Suddenly, a tendril reached up, almost trying to curl around his neck, as if trying to grab for something. Maybe he was imagining a necklace or choker, and in the end it was confirmed once he added “I left my pendant back at the house… but I used to wear it, thinking it meant something to me. It meant a lot to Asriel, but to me it was nothing… just jewelry.” He expressed a soft smile, sighing out lightly “But I know it meant something to Frisk because they wore it even when they could have left it behind… they walked right out of here, with everyone after them, wearing it around their neck. And I would ask myself  _ why _ ? After everything I had done… everything I failed to do… why would Frisk wear something that meant so much to Asriel but nothing to them? They had met Asriel once, just once… and yet suddenly they were so close that Frisk cried. Frisk was… really upset. I wouldn’t know how many times they had restarted, over and over, just to try and save Asriel… I wouldn’t know… and I wouldn’t understand.”

Flowey’s tendril continued to curl and unfold, still reaching and trying to grasp it. “It always feels surreal, remembering things that aren’t your own memories. Feeling like a clone. A clone who is supposed to be exactly like someone but… isn’t.” And slowly his root had gently landed back down on the bench “Frisk can’t hate you, and even if they wanted to, they probably won’t. So don’t over think so much.” He scoffed “I know you usually do, but you need to stop that.”

 

“Hey, you do the same thing.” You returned with a huff, causing him to laugh. It wasn’t even forced, it was a light-hearted and almost ‘fluffy’ laugh. Surprisingly cute for a flower who cussed like a sailor. The flower hummed “I guess overthinking can’t be helped but… if you can help it, it’s recommended to try and… not.”

You rubbed your arm a bit, feeling somewhat embarrassed for thinking such silly thoughts now after hearing Flowey’s little tale. He had been through so much compared to you. You both may have had similarities in certain situations, but your story wasn’t as close to astounding. Not to mention, you weren’t soulless and struggling with feelings like he was.

 

Well, to an extent.

 

“I told Frisk that we’re friends.” You finally admitted another thought that was bothering you. The fact that you labelled no one as your friend, in the back of your mind you figured you had no friends. You decided the moment you would return home, you would definitely learn to make friends and let more people into your life… at least you would try to. And yet…

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Flowey looked confused “Of course you and Frisk are friends, what’s so bad about that? Are you really that—“

“No, I mean…” You breathed out “Over the phone when me and Frisk were talking, I told them that me and you were friends.” You started to chew on your bottom lip, watching as Flowey’s face had gone from confused to stern, and then dropping from stern to nonchalant. He didn’t seem to care much about the comment, but to you it felt terrible “I never called Frisk my friend for all the years I’ve been around them. We practically grew up together the moment they emerged from the Underground. We went to school together, we went to college together, we work together but… everyone I’ve ever talked to was just an acquaintance or co-worker… no one was my friend, I had no friends and suddenly I get to hear Frisk talk about how worried they were over me and making sure I was safe but… I still remember telling frisk so casually  _ “Flowey’s a friend of mine, actually.” _ And yet… yet I never considered  _ them _ my friend until now. I’m just starting to think that… I really hope I didn’t hurt Frisk’s feelings. It’s why I wondered if, after all this… it would make sense if they hated me.”

 

“Whatever Frisk thinks doesn’t matter.” Flowey suddenly groaned out, as if completely done with you running in circles over the subject. You couldn’t blame him either for getting annoyed. He rolled his eyes “It’s out of Frisk’s control, they aren’t the main character and they feel powerless so now they’re just trying to figure things out… I highly doubt they even care that you had said it.”

 

There it was again,  _ the Main Character role. _

 

It was something that had been said since the very beginning, and it had carried along all this time, and once again your mind reeled at the thought. Flowey bringing it up again as an excuse towards  _ ‘that’s just how things are’ _ made you upset, confused, and just a little bit pissed.

 

“What does that really mean?” You demanded “I told you I just don’t understand that, it makes no sense to me and you keep using that as if it’s an easy answer to brush off why things are the way they are. That’s just as dumb as when a parent tells you to do something, you ask why, and they say  _ “Because I’m Mom!” _

Flowey was taken aback by your sudden outburst, though you didn’t apologize either. He opened his mouth, but you cut him off “And if you just brush me off again, telling me to  _ ‘not worry my pretty little head about it’ _ , I will  _ eat _ you.”

Flowey definitely closed his mouth then. Though the both of you simply stared at each other for a while, before he mumbled  _ “Eat me?” _

 

You sighed loudly “I’m not great with comebacks and I’m just getting frustrated! You know what I meant!”

 

The flower glanced around a bit, as if worried the two of you were being watched. As much as you liked to believe you both were alone underground… after having met the Amalgamate, and then the spiders, you had your doubts as well. You wound up joining him in glancing around, though it became apparent he was doing it all for show.

 

“I’m self-aware.” He commented, rather cockily as if it were an achievement. You weren’t exactly sure what to make of that, but then you understood what he meant “Oh, like a living plant. Well, yeah I know that already—“

“Not that, you idiot.” Flowey hissed, lifting his leaf to cover his face. You furrowed your brows as he tried again “Self-aware meaning… well, I know what we are and everything we are. Without sounding full of it, I know everything. Being self-aware is… not something a lot of people are.”

“What does it mean to be ‘self-aware’?” You dared to ask, still not believing much of what he was trying to say. The idea of knowing everything seemed too broad to be true. If he did know everything, a lot of things that had happened during your journey could have been avoided. But he persisted “Why do I keep calling you the  _ main character _ ? Why do I keep considering this whole ordeal to be some sort of  _ story _ ? Because  _ I know it. _ When you reach a higher state of being, of mind, you learn and know and understand and… suddenly life is mediocre because there isn’t much there in your control.” He cackled a little bit at his own words, before adding “In fact, I can even tell you that honestly, your narrator is a total  _ shit _ . But you’ll probably never see what I see, or what I feel… it’s something Frisk had to deal with for a while, something I had to… and now you.”

 

_ Thank God you have no idea what the hell he’s talking about, _ but Flowey continued to try his best to explain what he meant exactly “Determination. Everything, and everyone, revolves around determination. It’s the main thing that makes humans and monsters different. Humans are naturally born with it, no matter what soul they may have, it’s considered a natural gift and… somehow, with this determination, each and every human that has fallen down here has had the power to control the very existence of everything. To pause time, to rewind it. To become ‘self-aware’. And when you obtain that power, no matter how long you’ve had it, even if it’s stripped away you still know. You can still feel it. Every single being with determination has harnessed this power, but not at the same time… the world would be in total chaos if that were the case.”

Flowey was mesmerized by his own words, his eyes looked distant and distracted, as if he were in his own little world of knowledge. “Your determination has to be greater than the others. You have to have the most. And for a long time, it was me. I can’t tell you the others because I wasn’t around then… but I am alive because of pure determination. There is nothing else within me other than that essence of human existence. But Frisk… when Frisk fell my power was lost, I still knew, I could still understand everything. And when you know everything, it’s hard to appreciate anything.”

And with that, his trance was lost. His deep brown eyes seemed to shine again, and he was looking at you once more. His words sounded pure, they sounded genuine and true, you didn’t think he was lying and yet… it was very difficult to understand.

  
Which would mean if his words were true, you surely didn’t have it.

 

“It’s not as simple as  time travel, more-so as it is the control of it. To harness that much power… and to lose it… you would grow… hungry…”

Out of fear of losing Flowey in a trance again, let alone a trance of obsession and hunger for power, you lightly reached out and brushed his petal, as you had done before. The gentle touch startled him enough to jerk back and almost hiss at you, however the realization that it was you made him relax. He was back on track again as he asked gently “What would you do? It’s obvious you don’t have it… but… if you  _ did _ have that power, the power to pause, rewind, SAVE files as if the world were a videogame, restart…what would you do?”

 

The question wasn’t surprising, he was aware you didn’t have that power, and he was talking from the perspective of someone who has. Flowey had harnessed it, and so did Frisk… and apparently every other human who had ever fallen underground. The wonder of whether your childhood friend had the power or not made you question what she would have done in that situation. What did she do?

 

…

 

“I would want everyone to be happy.” You managed. It was a quick thought, it was the first thing that came to mind. The idea of having any sort of magical powers whatsoever made you think of wanting to save people. You would want to be a hero, but without the popularity junk that came with it. To you, being popular and having tons of friends meant nothing… but to truly save someone, it meant the world. And maybe these thoughts came to mind because you did sort of wonder what could happen? You wondered what it would be like to go back in time to save your best friend from her death. To save her from climbing Mt. Ebott and falling down. To rescue her from her fate. Maybe to even rescue everyone form their fate. You just wanted everyone to have a happy ending, one that everyone deserved. “I would want everyone to be happy, and I would keep trying… again and again… until everyone was happy. All I could ask for is… everyone to achieve a happy ending. One that I could never get.”

 

_ But what if it wasn’t too late for you? _

 

_ Would that be the happy ending you wanted? To save your friend? _

 

As if Flowey knew you were still questioning your answer, you shook your head again. It was to assure him, and yourself, that you meant what you said. “I wouldn’t be who I am without everything I had been through. All that I’ve become is because of what happened in my past…” You gave a small smile towards Flowey, gesturing to him with your hand lightly “Who would you be if Chara was alive…? Would you still be upset over everything they had tried to do? If your-- if Asriel still lived… what do you think would happen? You wouldn’t even be here and…” Your words trailed off, realizing that the subject had gotten touchy.

“Go back in time to save all the children from falling down… to keep Frisk from falling… they would have never freed everyone. So many things would have never happened if I changed anything in the past.”

 

_ Your heart ached. _

 

The hand you had gestured to Flowey suddenly lowered, though a small root began to wrap around your fingers, supporting you delicately. In a small breath, you found yourself lightly squeezing the tiny vines as if he were holding your hand “What would happen to you and me? If I could reset and never fall down here… what would happen to us?”

 

Flowey slowly pulled your hand closer towards him, looking at you all the while as he left a small trail of kisses over your fingers. Your skin tingled, and you couldn’t tell whether it was from the air conditioning, or if it really was the way he treated you. So gentle, so caring… it was starting to feel bizarre seeing so many sides of him. Watching his flowery lips brush over your skin, your voice weakened “I guess we’ll never know…”

 

“Are you ready to get inside?” Flowey ignored your comment and asked his own question, though his voice was low, and surprisingly deep. You felt that tingle again and shuddered “Y-Yes…”

 

Flowey let go of your hand “I meant in the hotel, freak.”

 

“Yes, that too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >(Funny side note that at the end here they were supposed to bang on the bench.)
> 
> >(I deemed it as uncomfortable as hell and thus removing it from the chapter. No hanky-panky for you readers. <3)


	22. In A World So Small

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Man,” You commented boldly “I’m really fucked up.”
> 
>  
> 
> _You sure are._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Sorry this took so long to post. Life keeps happening-- WHY LIFE TELL ME WHY--!  
> >EDIT:::: I'm actually thinking of making an art contest soon. XD Not for strictly this fic, but for my persona NEWSPAPER in general. Winner would receive a free one shot request written by me! Comment if interested and I'll plot something out.

###  **Chapter Twenty-Two:** ** _In A World So Small_**

“I wouldn’t change anything that had happened, even if I had the power to do so.”

You added this as you made your way into the abandoned hotel, Flowey perfectly attached to your shoulder. There was no better feeling than a fully air-conditioned resort in the middle of the Underground that had been abandoned for years, let alone in Hotland where you figured monsters surely needed the refreshing rest stop after enduring temperatures above a hundred degrees. You were sticky, your mouth tasted something foul, and now you really were hoping that the showers worked around here. You gave a soothing sigh as you raked your fingers through your hair “From what I can tell, everyone is happy. To some extent, at least… who am I to fool around with someone’s happiness?”

 

“Easy for you to say.” Flowey retorted with a sigh of his own, most likely out of annoyance and from relief all at the same time. It was a given that anytime you mentioned a quote about ‘everyone’s so happy!’ Flowey would get pissy, considering he probably was not part of the large group of people you assumed to be feeling such bliss.

 

The main lobby of the hotel had a giant fountain residing at the center of it. In Mettaton fashion, it was a Mettaton themed fountain with the robotic box spewing water right out of it and directly onto the floor. The water was green, along with a few other mixes of different colors probably from the lack of cleaning and the filter that helped the machine recycle properly. The water Mettaton spat onto the floor had caused a large molded spot on the already worn tile-- the spot had broken away to reveal patches of mold, mildew, and even a bit of plantlife to form. Which was, well, shocking considering the dirt in Hotland was completely dried out and seemed almost incapable of growing anything other than cacti… which you still saw none at all on your way here. The molded spot had been spreading for a long time, considering it surrounded the fountain in a full circle, even the parts that weren’t dipped in water had become contaminated. Thankfully the air conditioning was on though, so that you and Flowey wouldn’t be breathing it in.

To the right of the main lobby was a long hallway of doors, and to the left was a shorter hall that seemed to lead to a restaurant area. Right up ahead there were a set of doors with a glowing neon sign above it reading “CORE”. There seemed to be an elevator right next to it, however a smaller blinking sign read “IN USE”, though it was safe to assume it was simply jammed. And right in between the elevators and the Core doors resided a blinking sign that simply read “MTT”, and it looked almost like a food service spot.

 

“At least this place has running water.” You said this, as you looked back to the gross fluids draining from the fountain in all its rusty glory. Flowey scoffed, but that was all he did.

 

“Well, let’s try and find a room?” You looked to Flowey with a small smile, and he gestured with a leaf to the right “That way then, this whole place ran mostly on electricity so let’s hope we don’t have to deal with electronic locks like at Alphys’.”

 

As you made your way down the hall to the right of the main lobby, you noticed that the tiling beneath your boots were covered in green smudges and stains, something you didn’t dare question as you glanced at all the doors. The lock system seemed normal, they didn’t look electronic, and there was even a keyhole for each one. Walking up to any of the doors, you turned the knob in hopes of easy access—but of course life wasn’t that simple. They were all locked.

 

“How’s your lockpicking skill?” You asked Flowey, who was already morphing his vines to look as sharp, small, and pointy as he possibly could. Almost like needles, he was shapeshifting his tendrils to try and find something that could actually work. “I’ll let you know in a minute.” He replied, already focused on trying to make the perfect pick for the lock. He unraveled himself from your body and slid down your arm, attaching to the door knob and wrapping himself around it so that he would remain against the door. He inserted his small vines through the keyhole and began to do… whatever it is that he did. You weren’t one to question how he learned these sorts of things anymore… after all, being trapped underground left him plenty of time to learn new things, especially after years and years of reading so many books.

 

The flower knew  _ quantum physics _ , who were you to judge?

 

“I’ll leave you to it then.” You commented, still eyeing him as you backed away from the door. When he failed to reply, you turned around and decided to do some more exploring.

 

When you had made your way back to the main room, you could easily hear him picking away at the lock. The sounds of clicking reached as far as the center of the lobby until you were right next to the fountain of spewing sludge. Standing right next to the mucky water, you could smell how unclean it truly was, but thankfully the air-conditioning was still kicking and cleaning the air for you to breathe properly. You wouldn’t of minded venturing on the upper floors, though you couldn’t find any sets of stairs near the elevator, and the only other doors were the ones meant for the CORE and the other MTT food service.

Naturally, you were curious about the CORE room, something tempted you to go, but the moment you made your way right to the doors to push them open, the temptation was gone. Almost instantly… and surprisingly too quick for you to get a clear signal on what you truly wanted. Something had called out to you, but the moment you got close it had faded away. Your hand had reached out for the doors handle, but midway you had paused, and soon enough you retracted it. Maybe you were simply used to being with someone when exploring now? Maybe your body wasn’t a fan of exploring alone anymore ever since you and Flowey had teamed up.

 

You sighed.

What on earth were you going to do after all of this?

 

_ “This is driving me insane.” _ You whispered to yourself, pulling back from the door and turning your attention to the lobby once again.

 

_ Flowey. _

 

You sighed.

 

_ Flowey, Flowey, Flowey…  _

 

You could still hear his clicking down the hall. Wondering if there was any more progress made, you now felt the need to go back to Flowey to ask. But you didn’t want to bother him either, since you figured picking locks took a lot of time and focus. Movies and television, let alone video games, hadn’t really done most of those ‘thief’ skills justice, considering the speed of which someone can do a task of breaking a door open varied. Some actors and actresses were picking locks or hacking computers in less than five seconds before breaking in… others were taking a more ‘realistic’ approach of perhaps over an hour before the character could return and ask on the progress.

 

The last time Flowey tried to show off his skills of working  _ anything _ (other than you) was in the elevator that lead to the laboratory in Alphys’ basement. But even then he had failed to get the elevator fully functional, and instead the two of you plummeted down and crash landed.

 

You were hopeful, at the very least, that he could do something.

Your stomach growled, and you suddenly felt inclined to check out the food area with the MTT logo blinking over the set of doors. 

 

Pushing them open, you left your fingerprints on the glass of the doors; they were covered in a rather damp dust of sorts, slightly gray but also a bit wet… probably from the spray of the fountain if it had been running for such a long time. You couldn’t imagine it having been long, since you figured the emergency power had been shut off all this time. The only possibility you could think of, when it came to if the Mettaton Resort still had running power all along, was if and only if it had its own backup generator. But a giant resort of this stature would have needed a lot of power to run, let alone to run for years and years since the Monsters first came up to the surface.

Stepping inside, the lights flickered on. Motion censored, the convenience of a convenience store surrounded you, as well as a variety of smells graciously pressed to your nose. They gave you mixed signals.

 

Was it pleasant? Was it gross? You shrugged.

 

It was a small store that perhaps only four people at a time would be able to fit in, with the exception of the receptionist behind the counter. It had the setup of a gas station shop; with a microwave, a cash register, a variety of chisps and snacks on display, including magazines and novelty merchandize that advertised Mettaton at his finest, and other pricey snacks and marketing gags. Walking yourself behind the counter, you found a lot of scratch and claw marks along the inside. Deep gashes that indicated struggle… but if not that it must have been stress. Rumor had it that working for Mettaton, who was a  _ real _ drama queen, was known to cause stress and pain. To be overworked and underpaid, you couldn’t even fathom how, whoever originally worked here, managed to survive under the all-around-celebrity’s clutches.

You also spotted a small fridge, the type of size perfect for a college dorm. Kneeling yourself down and opening it up, there was plenty of packaged goods within the cool ice-box that even looked frosted over. And strange enough, the food was recognizable as (most definitely 100% confirmed) Mettaton brand, considering the first packaged product you pulled out was a steak cut in the shape of Mettaton’s face. From parfait’s to sandwiches, everything within the fridge still looked freshed since they had been perfectly sealed. But you suspected even sealed goods would go bad eventually, and if these had been here for years and years, you questioned how edible they even were. And hell, even if they were, what if the moment you opened them up and let air in they would suddenly mold right in your hands?

 

The thought made you drop Mettaton’s face on the floor. “Ew.”

 

But you were really hungry. Your stomach said so as it complained in gargly noises.

You could always come back to the fridge, you thought this as you shut it back closed and left the food stand behind to make your way to the restaurant area.

 

The place had a vacant smell, like the rest of the resort it smelled old and looked run down. You noticed the carpeting along the floor having been torn, looking as raggedy as the peeling wallpapers and posters along the walls. Most of the posters were advertisements of Mettaton’s many shows and channels on their Underground TV stations, and if not advertising for MTT, there were posters of Muffet’s bake sale, and the upcoming shows that would be performing on the mini-stage not far from where you stood. The tables and chairs at least looked useable.

As you walked through the restaurant to approach the stage, the floor creaked beneath your boots, implying underneath the carpeting there was wood, probably worn wood, but apparently not old enough for you to worry about collapsing through and plummeting into an abyss. The curtains that had once been used to close and prepare the next performer had long since fallen down onto the floorboards of the stage, practically torn to shreds in a heap.

 

“What’s in this shit that’s keeping it from going bad?!”

 

Flowey had found Mettaton’s face.

 

You yelled at yourself(mentally of course, that’d be really weird to yell out loud, right?) for smiling at the sound of his voice. 

 

Flowey had either managed to unlock the room then make his way to the food station, or he had given up and done the same. Either way, he was rummaging through the fridge with the same thought in mind—finding something edible that won’t possibly kill him if eaten.

You hurried your way back to the flashing MTT sign, flickering either by cue or due to faulty wiring, and pushed the doors open. Inside of the gas station setup you could hear the rummaging of someone behind the counter, and you walked right back and spotted Flowey, tendrils and all, flailing at the different items. He turned his head to glance at you, before looking back to the food.

 

You pouted.

 

“This looks edible… but,” Flowey had started as he would pick up one packaging, inspect it, then move it over to glance at another “The fact that over the years it has yet to show any signs of age or mold makes me question what the hell’s in this shit.”

“Maybe it’s sort of like jerky?” You tried to reason, even though you knew fully well that there was really no excuse “That stuff can stay pretty edible for a long time, you know.”

“Oh I know.” Flowey commented, though pulling out the starfait took away all other excuses you could muster “But I’d like to see you make up some reasoning behind why the other products that aren’t meat related haven’t gone sour.”

You stuck out your tongue, watching as he started to put everything back into the fridge. You imagined that the chisps and other small snacks available in the room were probably stale, but you did question if they, too, were still good enough to eat…and if so what exactly they were made of that kept them ‘fresh’. Flowey pulled himself away, and instinctively you held your arm out for him. Just as so, he grasped onto it and crawled his way up to your shoulder. “I got the room open, there’s a shower and a huge bed and everything. If you want to freshen up considering you reek of sweat and desperation, I suggest going for it.”

“Do I really smell bad?” You knew your breath was terrible, since Flowey had told you this before, but now you actually lifted your free arm to sniff yourself. Flowey snorted “Think of it as a natural musk.”

 

You stuck out your tongue again.

 

“Stop doing that.” A leaf pressed to your tongue, practically pushing it back into your mouth before Flowey used his other leaf to lift your jaw, closing your lips “Are you thirsty or something?”

What did sticking out your tongue have to do with thirst? You simply shook your head at the question, though you did question other things as you touched your stomach. Flowey glanced down at the gesture, before looking back at your face “I’m not gonna trust the packaged goods here. If you’re hungry… I’ll head back to the Ruins to make us something to eat.” He smiled slightly “Something  _ edible _ , even.”

“How are you going to go through the dirt to bring back a meal?” You questioned that as you walked the both of you out of the MTT station and back to the lobby. You stood right by the fountain at first, somewhat unwilling to lead Flowey back outside into the heat of Hotland, though he pointed with his leaf for you to exit the building. You hesitated, before doing as instructed and walking right through the automatic doors. The thought of Flowey actually burrowing around in the ground, carrying two full plates of  _ anything _ seemed ridiculous. Just imagining it made you laugh, but Flowey seemed rather serious. Once you had fully stepped outside into the humidity, Flowey detached himself from you and crawled down your body to make it to the earth.

 

“A little dirt never hurt anyone.” Flowey, of all people(plants) said this with a teasing wink.

 

You rolled your eyes, before looking back to him “Just don’t leave me for long.”

 

Flowey looked up to you with an arch of his invisible brow. Maybe saying something as strange as that, let alone after all that the two of you had been through, seemed  _ off _ . Flowey looked dumbfounded suddenly, and so were you. The two of you stared on in silence, and he looked away from your direct gaze “Just clean up, I’ll be back.”

He turned away from you, making a motion as if preparing to literally dive into the ground like it were a pool of water. But you stopped him rather quickly, needing to get something off your chest you reached down and out to him and spoke “Flowey, wait.”

 

Flowey stopped, turning his head back around to look over his leafy shoulder. He didn’t fully turn to you, but you had his attention.

 

Right now was probably a really crappy time to bring it up again, let alone after all the responses he had given to you about it… but…

 

“There  _ has  _ to be a way for you to come home with me…” 

 

You brought up. 

 

Not even one sentence in and Flowey rolled his eyes, and head, around and away from your general direction. 

 

You persisted though, even going as far as moving around him to kneel in front of him. The only way he could avoid you now was if he actually turned fully around to face the MTT Resort “I know I keep bringing it up but it’s only because I have hope we can make this work. Frisk at first said they wouldn’t even rescue  _ me _ but turned their answer around.”

 

“Huh?” Flowey snickered, squinting one eye and giving you a look of disbelief “Frisk almost didn’t come to get  _ you? _ Wow. That’s pretty… shitty.”

 

“But they changed their mind.” You said, even going as far as letting one of your hands cup the back of his head. He relaxed against the palm of your hand, but continued to give you the type of expression of someone who didn’t believe a single word you were saying. You gave a nervous smile “Frisk can change their mind, and maybe they can with you, too.”

 

“Give it a rest.” Flowey stared, his eyes widened almost as if he were looking right through you rather than  _ at  _ you. You wanted to carry on but you knew you couldn’t. That was all you could muster, and he proceeded as if scolding you like a child who believed in fairytales “You of all people should know how quick I can snap. It’s bad enough trying to control myself from…” He took in a deep breath, before sighing out through clenched teeth “…from holding back, just from doing things for the sake of… if I feel like it or not.” He finally tore his beady brown eyes away from you, and you did the same even as he continued “It’s been years, but I’m still struggling with control... and you’ve been a victim of my games. Haven’t you had enough fooling around?”

“Flowey, you know it’s not like that at all.” You wanted to give him a reassuring squeeze, but he had just then pulled himself out of your touch. You weren’t sure what to even do with your hand then, so instead of leaving it hovering near him you let it rest on the dry dirt “You just have to try, and I’m sure—“

“What the hell do you think I’m doing now?” He snickered “Do you think I’m **not** _trying?_ But... like I said, it doesn’t matter… I’ve _been_ trying and yet I’ve still hurt you, hurt other people… it’s hard to make connections after living years and years of being torn apart.” 

 

Flowey suddenly surfed through the dirt, traveling his way around you so he can once again face Hotland and turn his back to you. You turned around to look at him as he breathed out, almost in relief “But I don’t care anymore. You said you’d visit now and again, right?”

 

“Of course, Flowey.”

 

“Then that’s all that matters.”

 

He looked over his leaf at you, once again, not fully letting his eyes look to yours, but still giving you attention “Getting to see you again is all that matters.”

 

You wanted to cry.

 

“You better promise.” He turned his head away, and Flowey chuckled “And if you break that promise I’ll break your legs.”

 

You wanted to laugh, but seeing as he failed to, you swallowed it down “Of course I promise.”

 

“Good.” Flowey said quickly, before sinking into the earth. All that remained was a tiny hole from where he dove in, and that was that.

 

You felt miserable over it, but if he was so insistent on brushing off the idea of leaving with you, then so be it. How often did he expect you to remind him to be hopeful? 

 

Maybe he didn’t want to be reminded… maybe you bringing it up over and over just made it hurt more and more.

 

But you knew you couldn’t help it. Because deep down you  _ really _ wanted to be with him. You wanted to try and make things work out, you wanted him to find a happy ending. Was that too much to ask for? To hope Frisk would shrug their shoulders and allow Flowey to join you on the surface? For Flowey to no longer feel pressured into lashing out? For you to find a happily ever after?

 

Maybe.

 

Retreating back inside the building, you now had the whole place to yourself until further notice. 

Flowey kept dropping hints as to you needing a shower, and you definitely wanted to freshen up; it was time to take advantage of what you had been given. It felt as if it Alphys’ lab was so far away, and yet both the lab and Mettaton’s hotel were right in Hotland. But then why did it feel as if it had been years since you last took a decent bath?

When you walked back into the room Flowey had successfully broken into, he was right that there was a shower… but he failed to mention there being a  _ really _ nice bathtub as well. The tub was large, but you only figured it was that size considering these rooms were probably meant to accommodate monsters, not humans who could possibly be two or three times smaller. It was a bit dusty, but you figured you definitely wouldn’t mind cleaning it up for the sake of trying it out. There were frickin’  _ jets _ along the edges of the tub!  _ Jets. _ That was  _ spa treatment worthy. _

The bedroom followed multiple yellow shades; there was yellow along the walls with surprisingly intact paint, the furnishings of nightstands and Mettaton themed lamps were shades of yellow and orange, and even the bedsheets followed suit. You did notice that there was a much cleaner spot on the wall space right above the bed, as if a painting had once hung there… however that had long since been removed, leaving nothing more than a really nice looking square against the paint.

 

You let out a giddy noise as you ignored the gigantic king sized bed that sat at the center of the even larger suite bedroom, and you literally tossed and tugged off your boots and clothes before dashing into the master bath. 

 

Everything was covered in dust, but the first thing you did was try the bathtub handle to make sure the water would run and, hopefully, not run green gunk like that of the water fountain. Most water fountains, however, reused the water already poured in… they only remained clean so long as the owner changed the filter, and so long as the owner cleaned the fountain now and then. So you suspected, and hoped, that the water that was used throughout the Mettaton resort had nothing to do with what was coming out of the fountain in the main lobby.

 

With a creaky turn of the knob for the hot water, out poured crystal, clean, and scentless liquid. 

 

And you sighed happily, and thankfully, that the water was  _ actually _ hot. 

 

With the tub turned on, the jets started running, blaring small vibrating noises as the tub began to fill and the jets pushed out air. There was a row of them along the back end of the tub, perfect for a back massage that you definitely were in need of. All that was missing from this scenario was room service—but then again Flowey was taking care of that.

 

With your clothes already discarded; shorts, boots, shirt and all, you ran the water and began to scrub the tub in your naked glory. The least of your worries being Flowey reappearing to see you cleaning the bathroom while bare.

 

It didn’t happen, by the way. It was just a silly concern in the back of your head.

 

When you were certain you had cleaned it enough, and the room was already getting steamy, you finally began to fill it up with water. The free bubble baths and soaps that were sitting in topless bottles around the rim of the tub had long since dried out and evaporated… or however soapy fluids work… so you had to make do with the small bar of unopened hand soap that sat at the bathroom sink beside the faucet. You grabbed it just before turning off the tubs water, and you climbed right in and delicately sat yourself down.

You probably could have fallen asleep in the tub, you felt that you deserved as much. A nap sounded great, but you also didn’t want to sleep through whatever meal Flowey would be bringing back for you to enjoy. 

 

Maybe a power nap wouldn’t be so bad?

 

You closed your eyes--

 

But you also knew a lot of drowning incidents happened with people falling asleep while in the tub, so you voted against getting too comfortable as you started to scrub yourself down.

 

And yes, you were tempted— _ tempted— _ to give yourself a little action. The jets pushed and vibrated away your troubles along your figure, you moved your back now and then to make sure they massaged all of you, and it was during this movement that one of the jets managed to massage in the best place that needed massaging-- so due to the jets massaging your whole body and just the thought of, once again, Flowey suddenly appearing to see you naked and vulnerable in a steaming tub… you were tempted.

 

_ “What are you doing in the tub~?” Flowey would tease. _

_ And you would gasp, blush as dramatically as possible, and pretend to hide your body with your arms even though you would show all the parts he needed to see “Oh no! You caught me at such an embarrassing time!” _

_ And you would quickly ask “What are you gonna do to me--” _

 

\--but you also voted against that.

 

Only because that sounded like a horribly written fanfiction, and you really needed to calm yourself down.

 

“Man,” You commented boldly “I’m really fucked up.”

 

_ You sure are. _

 

And with that you finished up your bath time and climbed out, having spent less than thirty minutes in it. You were already completely pruny, and as if you were officially used to the ‘good life’ after just one hot tub bathing treatment, you expected there to be lotion available somewhere within the restroom. But alas, poor human, there were none available, and you had to simply dress yourself back up into your gross clothes before making your way to the bed.

Flowey had taken the liberty of dusting off the sheets. You could tell because, unlike everything else that had a thick layer of dead skin and whatever else dust had been made out of, the bed was not one of them. Either Mettaton used anti- _ something something _ to keep bed sheets from getting dirty, or Flowey knew you’d be sleeping there and didn’t want you to just roll into a pile of trash.

Flowey was very articulate about things, you noticed. Somewhat OCD when it came to things looking clean, spotless, and remaining organized. If not that, he was highly perfectionistic and needed things to be the best or else they were just no good. You figured hunger must have stopped him from cleaning the rest of the bedroom after having opened it; he wouldn’t of left it like this without there being some reason to take a break. That, and you took the hint because you had found him in the MTT area scanning the fridge—so doing the math you suspected as much.

You flopped onto the bed and yawned. Lying on your back, arms splayed out and legs wide open hanging off the edge, you stared at the ceiling for a short period of time before closing your eyes. Once again, wanting to fall asleep but fighting back the urge. Sleep sounded great, but you were also really  _ really _ hungry… for something other than a sealed package of ‘face steak’.

 

You left the bedroom behind and went back to the main lobby to figure out what to do with your spare time.

 

Looking inside of the receptionists office area, you didn’t find much to snack on. But then again, that was expected considering it wasn’t a snack spot to begin with and was a place to keep track of who stayed and who left the Mettaton Resort. All you really managed to find were office supplies for writing notes, as well as different lists for the many guests that often showed up to stay. Every now and then as you scrolled over lists you would find a fake name(or at least what you assumed to be fake); Hughe Mann, G. Normas,  _ Em Vee Funny _ … and if they were real names then you would mentally apologize at a later date. 

After leaving the receptionist’s abandoned desk, you took a moment to stare vacantly at the door leading to the CORE room. Whatever room that may be. 

 

It tempted you, most definitely, and yet each time you would approach and reach for the handle, the temptation would evaporate. 

 

It was really  _ really _ odd, but you dare not question your judgement as you backed off and went to the dining room instead.

 

The restaurant area thankfully had at least a few decent tables left, you figured it didn’t hurt to clean one off for whenever Flowey returned with lunch… or dinner… whatever—

 

When you had approached one of the tables(at least the most decent looking one) you patted away at the dust on the tablecloth, trying your best to clean it off for the sake of not having any sneezing fits during dinner—breakfast—or whatever. You cleaned the table and the chairs, and after having solved that issue you realized the next one would be to figure out how to get Flowey sitting at the table. 

Not that he couldn’t, of course. He was more than capable of sitting himself at a table, or in a chair, but the point was you wanted him in a nice vase for the sake of this whole set up looking…  _ festive _ ? 

 

You went this far, might as well go all the way, right?

 

So since it was still taking Flowey a few extra minutes to return to the hotel, you decided to wander around the restaurant area in search of a vase. Thankfully, there were plenty available for you to choose from.

 

You knew you had no right to exactly ‘choose’ which vase fit Flowey best or not, but you also figured by the time Flowey got back he wouldn’t exactly care which one he was planted in. For most of the journey just to get this far he had been transferred from one vase to the next; even to a bowl, and of course most of the way he was attached to your skin. So maybe you were making a big deal out of nothing? 

The fact that you stood there, staring at four different types of vases that you had gathered from around the room, trying to see which one would match his petals, or which one fit his tall stature, you started to question your sanity.

 

How much did you like this flower…?

 

“This one.” You told yourself aloud, grabbing for the classic vase and practically cradling it in your arms as you made your way back to the table you had cleaned up. 

Setting it on the space across from where you planned on sitting, you adjusted the vase as if it’s position would matter, before smiling in approval at all you had done.

 

You had cleaned the table, you were smelling good, all that remained needing to be finished was eating something before your stomach caved in on itself. Then afterwards you would take a nice relaxing day at the Mettaton Resort, all expenses paid of course, and then be on your merry way to leaving.

 

…

 

The reminder that you would be leaving Flowey really soon made your stomach churn. If not that, you were most definitely starving.

 

Almost as if summoned just by the sheer thought, Flowey announced himself with a loud noise not too far off. It sounded muffled, almost like he were being suffocated by a pillow, so you made your way over to investigate. Though it turned out that he hadn’t entered the building yet, and he was just screaming right outside the automated doors—loud enough to hear him all the way in the dining hall.

 

“Got it!” He said, once you stepped forward to let the doors sense your presence and part ways for you. Flowey held up two  _ amazing _ dishes before your very eyes, both exactly alike; Steamed veggies, what you considered to look similar to mashed potatoes and gravy, and then a slab of…what you compared to meatloaf. You weren’t sure where Flowey could have gotten the meat from, considering the Underground didn’t seem to show signs of containing livestock anywhere, let alone you hadn’t heard any cows or pigs in the Ruins when you made your way through.

 

As if on cue, he replied simply “It’s fake meat, made out of vegetables and some spices and shit I threw together to taste like the real deal.”

 

“An all vegetarian diet.” You replied, looking over the plates with… well, somewhat disappointment. You were excited at first considering you were starving, and to top it all off you  _ loved  _ meat… but the idea of eating something that looks like meat but wasn’t made you question how good it actually would be. But then again, the MTT packaged goods that had meat and parfaits also made you question what was in them. So you couldn’t judge.

 

And Flowey also reminded you “Hey, it’s either this or that crap Mettaton has down here.”

 

Of course Flowey won. He’d already proven to be a great baker, so this would just be another test that showed how well he was at working with vegetables. And you couldn’t lie to yourself that the dish looked disgusting—it looked amazing! You could feel your mouth pool with drool as you helped Flowey get situated on your arm to escort him to the restaurant.

 

You felt rather proud when you presented him a very nice looking table, including a vase full of dampened dirt waiting for him, and you hoped he would notice the work you pulled off to try and have a nice dinner. Flowey did take notice of the vase, but the table itself he didn’t comment on before simply letting his vines set down both of the plates. He got himself comfortable in the vase you had found for him, and you got yourself situated in your chair.

 

It wasn’t until you were staring directly at the meal before you that you noticed specs of dirt having gotten into it, just as you had feared. Not to mention some grass here and there.

 

“I told you that you’d get dirt in it.” You snickered, but like he had said earlier, a little dirt never hurt anyone, right? You grabbed an abandoned fork, wiped it the best that you could on your shirt, and started digging in. And you were right, the stuff that looked like mashed potatoes were definitely mashed potatoes.

 

And the meatloaf, other than the specs of mud here and there, tasted as good as Flowey said it would. He had lied about it tasting just like regular meatloaf, but it tasted good nonetheless.

 

Something tasted… off… about the meal, but it was decent.

 

“So have you had meat before?” You asked, trying to start a bit of casual conversation during dinner. It wasn’t as if there was silence between you two, the both of you would talk now and again about random things that came to mind. Flowey especially would brag about what type of spices he used in the dish and how he would manage to get the potatoes to be thick and creamy rather than, what he called, chunky and clunky. Everything was fine as if the chat you two shared before he left never happened, but you figured it would be nice to hear about his experiences with, what you labelled as, ‘surface food’.

“Of course I have.” Flowey responded quickly, having finished at least half his plate before replying to your, supposedly, dumb question “We had meat down here. You know, things like beef jerky, steak, chicken… and I’m not talking about that shit Mettaton sells, either.” He glanced upward, as if actually looking for something “Forever and a half ago, sometimes wild animals would fall down. After awhile they stopped but we would have all sorts of stuff.” He lowered his head back down to look at you again, sighing a bit “They would die on impact, though. Why humans don’t die is beyond me, but the fall was long enough to kill whatever else fell down here.”

“I know chickens can’t fly, but couldn’t they at least float enough to save themselves?” You tried to ask, realizing his plate was still half full while yours was completely empty now “What about things like eggs? Did you ever have eggs? Or milk? Things that came from these livestock animals?”

“We have other ways of making food.” Flowey said somewhat smugly, as if pleased with your interest in learning from him. You could tell he was rather fond of being a ‘know it all’. “Toriel grew a bunch of stuff, there are some monsters who would have gardens from the few seeds they would find here and there… but each monster has their own special magic, even Vegetoid could literally produce vegetables from thin air.”

“Was it the same for eggs and milk?” You tried to get back on topic.

Flowey shrugged his leaves “I’m gonna say yes, but don’t take my word for it. And I’m sure we had other outside sources sometimes as well, like when people threw shit away. We would find tons of crap from the surface at the garbage dump.”

 

Milk and eggs, from a garbage dump. 

 

You questioned that mentally but decided not to push on the subject any further. You wouldn’t be eating underground for long, after all, you were almost home. It would be back to normal eggs and normal milk and normal meat, part of your normal life, right?

 

You quietly watched as Flowey finished off the rest of his plate.

 

The atmosphere was relaxing, the setting as romantic as any abandoned restaurant could appear to be, and all that was missing was some gentle music in the background, a few candles, and maybe a nice bouquet of flowers as a centerpiece. You snorted at the imagery, but you said your thoughts aloud “This is sort of like a date.”

“Really?” Flowey’s plate was finally just as clean as yours, and he had occupied his remaining time by licking at the vines he had been eating with. Almost like he were licking his imaginary fingers, complimenting himself on his own cooking skill “What sort of date?”

“A romantic one.” You smiled at his gestures “Being in a nice restaurant, having a fancy meal…” You cleared your throat then, looking away from him and leaning on your arm “…being with the one you care about. That sort of date.”

“Oh.” Flowey said, and with a quick glance in his direction you see the flush of pink cover his face. He looked flustered from the remark, and even started to brush his leaves together to try and keep himself busy from looking directly your way. You were quite proud of this, though the mood turned into something else when he added “This would be better if you could stay.”

“You know I can’t…” You practically sigh out your reply. 

You had to admit you were tired of hearing his begging. Let alone how his begging went on and off like the flip of a switch; one moment he would tell you you had to get out, the next he would beg for you to stay with him. 

 

But you were in the wrong for sighing at something like this, since it did happen to deal with Flowey’s feelings for you. He took offense to you brushing it off, and he even pulled his head back as if he were close to you—which he was across the table, and now farther due to pulling back “What, I can’t ask  _ you _ to stay, but by all means you can keep asking for me to go with you? What sort of flip floppin’ world do you live in?”

 

“It’s not that.” You now had both your arms on the table top resting before you, as you stared downward in hopes of avoiding eye contact “It’s easier for both of us if we lived on the surface, don’t you think? You need sun, and you have to admit you like the company—“

“And  _ you _ admitted awhile back you hate people.” Flowey retorted, literally flicking his leaf back as if flipping his hair over his shoulder, just as dramatically as you figured it would be “Every excuse you have about us living on the surface together works just as well for us living in the Underground. Frisk won’t let me leave, you have the option to stay or go… and besides…” He looked to you then, directly into your eyes as he huffed “Which is better, anyway? Living in some lousy house or apartment, wherever you fuckin’ live, with a bunch of people you could give less than two shits about… or a whole world under your own control? With that one special person you like…”

 

Flowey swallowed “Or, one special plant… or whatever.”

 

You give a nervous smile “Are you confessing something?”

 

He rolled his eyes “Are you?”

 

You sighed, closing your eyes as you referred back to his problem “I’m noticing a pattern of needing to be in control of something. You know, just because you won’t be in control of the world on the surface doesn’t mean you can’t control your own actions and your own life--”

 

“Right.” Flowey brushed you off, pretending to yawn.

 

Of course you went back to square one “Look, Flowey… this whole journey we’ve had taught me enough to know I  _ do _ have people I care about, and who care about me too. I told you that… my only reason for keeping myself from getting close to anyone was because of what happened to my friend. I was scared of losing someone again, and I don’t want to lose anyone again—“

 

“What about losing me?” Flowey almost hissed—almost, and you flinched. “What about what all this is?”

 

Once again, you felt stuck and unsure about your next move. 

 

What else could you say? After all, he was right. It wasn’t fair to him that you were talking about not losing more important persons in your life, but apparently leaving him underground was something to just move on from. You swallowed back the lump forming in your throat, whether it was from the meal you had just eaten, or from nerves, you couldn’t tell… but something wasn’t sitting right in your stomach.

 

But it had only been a second before you realized you felt something under the table. Something close, and crawling—stretching over your ankles, and slowly curling around your legs as they slid up your calves and tickled your thighs.

 

_ “Stay.” _ Flowey breathed out lowly. 

 

His eyes had become almost vacant, half-lidded as he kept himself fixated on you. You saw that during the discussion, he had apparently slid some of his roots behind himself to let them glide down under the table to surprise you. You were getting concerned, but he pressed on  _ “What can I do to make you stay here with me? Why won’t you stay?” _

You were worried he would snap again, and the imagery of being impaled against a laboratory wall made you shudder. 

 

You quickly, yet shakily, spoke slowly “Take a few deep breaths, Flowey.”

 

He paused, blinking slightly at your response that had nothing to do with his question for you. 

He seemed to have snapped out of it, surprised from your reaction. His empty brown eyes showed signs of life again as he blinked more “Huh?”

The vines had suddenly tightened, constricting your legs like a snake ready to kill. You yelped, and your shocked noise had startled him enough to release you almost immediately. His vines retracted just as fast as they had squeezed, as if never having been there in the first place “I’m…” He started, now looking confused as he lowered his gaze down to his own vase of dirt. It was apparent in the heat of the moment he wasn’t sure what came over him, maybe he had began to grab you absent-mindedly? Maybe it was just a reflex of his… that paired well with the topic of making you stay.

 

Flowey sighed, and you smiled nervously still “Just breathe, okay?”

 

_ “Sorry.” _ He murmured, but obeyed. 

 

Flowey took in a deep breath, before slowly letting it out and closing his eyes. He tried to concentrate on whatever else he had been wanting to say earlier. As intimidating of a moment that had been, it was almost… relieving to see him  _ trying _ to change.

 

“Anyway…” He changed the subject and gave his own small smile toward you “The Core is next after this, and you could say it’s sort of…  _ draining _ . You’ll need your rest to get through that place, so you can head to bed whenever you’re ready.”

 

“You’re not going to sleep, too?” You asked quickly, watching as he gathered his empty plate, and yours, and stacked them together before hopping off the table with his pot. Flowey used his tendrils to walk himself and the plates out of the restaurant and to the main lobby, where you followed him quickly. You figured the conversation you two shared would cause some more tension to form between the both of you, but you didn’t think it was anything as bad as avoiding you the rest of the night.

“I’ll get sleep soon.” Flowey said, and you were thankful for this as you watched him once again step back out into the humid heat of Hotland. Back next to where he had first delved in to return to the Ruins, Flowey wrapped his vines around the plates as if protecting them from something, as he uprooted himself from his vase and climbed out and onto the ground. He wriggled himself into getting comfortable in the earth “We’re almost out but it’s still a long way ahead, since you gave those spider freaks the rest of your snacks I figured I’d make more. Maybe something for breakfast tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, yeah good idea.” You said thoughtfully, tilting your head and smiling down at him as he looked up to you “I miss your snacks.”

 

“I’m sure.” His cheeks reddened again, and he looked away “Well, get some rest, alright? I’ll be back in a bit…”

 

You nodded quickly, taking a step back as he began to burrow his way downward, and once he was out of sight, you turned around to head back--

 

“Wait a sec.”

 

You turn back and spotted Flowey having re-emerged, his head poking out of the new hole he had dug up. His face was still as bright as a tomato, and you hurried to approach “Yeah? Did you need something?”

 

Flowey sniffed.

 

…

 

You wrinkled your nose as he sniffed again “Um…?”

 

“You smell nice.” He commented, and just like that, he’s gone again in an instant.

  
“Thank you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >I told myself I'd finish this before I went off on vacation, and I DID! :D
> 
> >I'll be inactive for awhile but bare with me. <3 I hope you guys enjoy.


	23. Determined to Love P.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...his eyes had returned to their gentle hazel's, though they almost seemed panicked “They were portioned… they were portioned so that they would last long enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >LEMON FRESHNESS WARNING ALL THESE LEMONS WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS LEMON--  
> >Man, I really hope I can finish this story before the year ends as planned... XD Life's smackin my butt.
> 
> >Not in the kinky way either >;T  
> >EDIT:: Updated it from "No Archive Warnings Apply" thing to "Graphic Depictions of Violence" thing... cuz I'm kinda really late and should've changed that since chapter 12

###  **Chapter Twenty-Three:** ** _Determined To Love P.1_**

You slowly opened your eyes, staring at the dark ceiling for a moment, before blinking gently to try and doze back off.

 

But your stomach wouldn’t let you get back to sleep, because you were suddenly starving.

 

As delicious as the vegetarian dish was, it apparently wasn’t enough to sustain your body built on the proteins from meats, so it gurgled in protest… requesting more food.

 

You held your stomach with a small sigh as you turned your head just a tad to look over the dark room.

 

Flowey rested loosely around you, his vines were tangled over your form and he was definitely fast asleep. It was surprising to hear his gentle breathing so close to you, since you had never been around (or awake) when he would choose to sleep. This was the first time you caught him with his eyes closed, and his guard down.

Not long after he had left to make snacks for the journey ahead, you found yourself getting tired and really needing to take a break. Of course it consisted of sleeping, but you figured it would only be a nap. You bee-lined to the bedroom unlocked for your use and flopped into the cleaned(or at least dusted) sheets before closing your eyes. And that’s why, moments ago, you opened them up hours later.

 

With the lights out, Flowey asleep, and your body in need of sustenance.

 

It gurgled again at the reminder, and you tried to distract yourself by complimenting Flowey in the back of your head.

 

He was adorable when he slept, he had a natural innocent face no matter how sinister and dark he could shapeshift it to appear. His petals drooped slightly to add towards an animated slumber, and the soft breaths that would escape him before he would breath in again were to die for. He was precious to you… and you’d like to think you were precious to him, too.

 

Your stomach yelled.

 

“ _Crap…_ ”

You finally gave in, determined to figure out what sort of snacks Flowey had brought while you were unconscious. You made sure to carefully peel his roots and vines off of you, not wanting to hurt him in any way, but also not wanting to wake him up or have him catch you stealing his food. And it honestly took you quite a bit, because now and then when you would push him back, he would naturally return to holding you. You smirked all the while still trying to escape his clutches, and then eventually you managed and stumbled out of bed.

Apparently while you were sleeping, he also decided to clean the rest of the room. It was hard to see in the darkness, but you could smell what seemed similar to cleaning materials, and a heavy layered scent of dust that hovered in the air. If he didn’t give the entire room a hard scrubbing, he definitely at _least_ dusted everything else… and damn, all this while you were sleeping?

 

Wow, you were a heavy sleeper.

 

You did your best to wander around in the dark. It would have been worse if the room were smaller and full of objects to smack into, but you resorted to crawling on the floor and instinctively hunting for your backpack. Throughout your entire journey Flowey’s been consistent in one thing; stashing the goods in your bag for safe keeping. So naturally, when you felt the bag and recognized the familiar texture of the material, you snatched it up and headed towards the bathroom.

It didn’t take long before the bathroom door was closed and the lights were on, and you proceeded to raid your own backpack. And yes, just as expected, the baked pastries were stashed within. Lazily hidden in your bag, pressed under your journal that hadn’t been touched in a while, were neatly wrapped sweetbreads. One similar to Melon-pan, another similar to a sweet roll, and a smaller sized one similar to a simple glazed donut. All three of them different in sizes and shapes, however all similarly decorated in tiny yellow bits of powder. The powder tasted unlike anything you’ve had before, but your stomach yelling indicated anything would do, and you scarfed all three of them down.

 

Really. You even coughed and almost choked on the last one you had shoveled in your mouth, but you managed just fine by drinking some of the faucet water from the bathtub(You were crawling around anyway, so you figured why not keep it up).

 

It was a given he’d make more anyway, considering it was definitely something he loved to do. Cooking or baking in general seemed like something he had been doing for a long time since Flowey had been underground, and he had perfected it most definitely; since your body approved of it. It didn’t stop you from feeling a bit bad that you had eaten everything he made in less than twenty minutes and were _still_ undeniably hungry. Seriously. Your stomach felt horribly empty still and you weren’t sure whether you were just dreaming and secretly eating air or if the pastries were just that _light and fluffy_. You devoured Flowey’s goods all for nothing, they barely made a dent in your tummy… but at least it wouldn’t yell at you for a while, you figured.

Ever since dinner your stomach’s been grumbly and annoyed, the empty feeling was carried from the dining room to the bedroom where you tried to nap your troubles away—only to wake up with an angry belly and the lights out. You can’t seem to shake that empty feeling though, that feeling of uncertainty.

 

You figured your stomach was growling due to hunger, but if even the pastries did nothing to you, then what was the problem?

 

With a soft sigh, you turned off the bathroom light and stepped back into the bedroom, wandering your way back to the bed. Carefully, you laid yourself back down in hopes of sleeping once more, but now you were wide awake, and simply staring at Flowey as he laid beside you.

Flowey could shrink and grow his tendrils at will, especially when rooted in dirt—so it was rather funny seeing that he didn’t have control of it when he was asleep. They simply laid in a pile, like long strings surrounding him. And every now and then they would twitch here and there while he shifted in his slumber. It was bizarre seeing him in this state, considering he looked _terrifyingly innocent_ compared to everything you knew about him. Maybe that was one of the reasons he never truly slept around or near you if he ever bothered to sleep at all—just so he could avoid you noticing that _‘awww, what an angel!’_ face of his while he snoozed.

How could someone so soft and gentle looking be so…

 

_Rough and frisky?_

 

Your mind seemed to shift one way, then another, all the while still wide awake and watching as the plant you adored seemed perfectly capable of resting well and easy. A small portion of your brain knew very well that you needed to get some sort of rest… another still craved food or whatever it was growling about… and another sliver of your mind was suddenly craving _something else entirely._

 

And eventually, that sliver gave you a realization that… ‘ _Damn, Flowey’s the top.’_

 

I mean, not that your genderless/genderfluid personality really _cared_ , but you did figure it was only fair to take turns being top and bottom now and then. Though apparently Flowey made it rather obvious what stance he preferred, and that was a definite _dominant_ one.

He had the strength to back his wants up though, and while you had strengths of your own that you knew you had often used to your own advantage, you still started to wonder what it would be like to take the upper-hand on Flowey. You two didn’t exactly have sex often(excluding the times at Alphys’ lab considering it was the first and technically last time you guys banged), any of the times you had resulted in Flowey taking control and doing most of the work. And the only real reason you two stopped was because Flowey had turned into a nymphomaniac suicidal murderer—

 

Dammit, what a charmer.

 

Always putting the moves on _you._

 

How dare _he._

 

Let’s ignore the fact that you had flaunted and flirted a lot around him yourself and almost triggered him to turn _batshit_ crazy-- but your point still stood strong… in your head, at least.

 

And that gave you enough strength to slowly move yourself closer to the flower on the bed. Un-rooted, asleep and with his _defenses lowered,_ you casually brushed a finger over one of his petals. The golden flower twitched, and though he grumbled lightly and moved some, he remained fast asleep as he nuzzled more into his pillow. Every part of him must have had a nerve, and you were embarrassed to admit that you thought his petals were more like hair than actually attached to his...veins? Whatever it was that plants had--

But every time you would lean forward and grace your finger over a vine, or a petal, or even his stem… every part of him twitched and reacted. It was obvious he wasn’t exactly used to such touches either, considering he would remain asleep the entire time. His face, at the end of your curious roaming, was flushed and pink, but he was definitely still in a deep sleep.

You gently picked up one of his tendrils, feeling it warm up slowly between your fingers as you lifted your body to sit upright fully. You quietly moved, only letting the bed creak a little bit as you managed to place your legs on either side of him, and you hovered over his plant-body carefully just as you took the tendril of his and placed it to your lips. With a smile, you gave it a small kiss, then a light lick, more happy at the approving reactions you were managing to get out of the sleepy Flowey. If his sleeping face didn’t contort and stir enough for you, considering it was more deeply flushed than before, and his sudden quick breaths that escaped him every time he squirmed weren’t enough… then surely the fact that the tendril you held, let alone the others now underneath you, were growing red meant something much more to you. They were red and starting to blossom. And from your somewhat decent memory, you knew what that meant… and you were already getting excited just thinking about it.

 

This was _terribly wrong_ , you were feeling rather timid suddenly at the thought of him waking up to you screwing with him—literally. You two had feelings for each other, but any amount of emotional confessions _like these_ could put him over the edge again. You knew that. So why was this obsession happening again? Was it the fact that he had rejected your hopes of him reaching the surface before leaving? Was it the dormant reminder that you two hadn’t gotten that touchy in a long time? Or maybe what rose within you was the spark of the kiss you two shared just before entering the MTT Resort…? Your own breathing hitched as you licked at the tendril in hand again, feeling it tense against your tongue as you practically leaned over him in a straddle-like position. If he actually had a lap, you’d _definitely_ be grinding on it. But you let the tendril go when you realized there were half lidded red eyes staring up at you. With Flowey’s eyes usually leaning more towards hazel, the red was almost startling. The only reason you didn’t duck for cover was because they were also clouded and unfocused-- an obvious sign that he was still somewhat sleeping. _Thank god._

 

You had problems.

 

“ _Can I be top, Flowey?_ ” You dared to ask him, even though he was basically looking right through you as you lowered your face to greet his. You couldn’t believe you were going this far. You couldn’t believe that after all this that the two of you had been through, these were the levels you’d reach just to be with him. To share something with him. Let alone, while he slept of all things he could/should be doing. Your mind raced as fast as your heart, the empty feeling in your gut was replaced with butterflies that fluttered uncontrollably, all the while he stared on at you through half-lidded sleepy eyes, the red almost glowing in the dark.

 

With a small hum, you closed your eyes and kissed him.

 

A soft and sweet kiss at first, though it was long and intimate… and soon enough you had lowered your hips and let your hands cradle the back of his head as you deepened it. The kiss had gotten heated due to your excitement, and you found yourself suddenly slipping your tongue into his mouth. You could hear his flustered sleepy noises, his gasps, feeling his tendrils wrap around you, you could taste the sweetness of his lips as your tongue--

 

...wait his tendrils were _what--_

 

Just as your eyes opened wide, you saw angry rubies glaring as he slammed his teeth on your tongue. You shouted—mostly from paid but there was a mixture of shock and fear as well—and before you had a moment to try anything else the tendrils that had snuck around your waist squeezed the breath out of you, before flipping you immediately off of the bed.

 

_Ouch, rejection._

 

“WHAT THE ACTUAL **FUCK.** ” Flowey spat.

 

He _literally_ spat as if your kiss tasted like actual poison as his vines pulled away from you just to begin wiping away at his mouth “WERE YOU MOLESTING ME IN MY SLEEP, YOU PERVERTED SHIT?!”

 

“ _ME?!_ ” You were fumbling a bit due to having been so suddenly removed from the bed, and your head smashing against the floor a second ago definitely didn’t help. Why you were bothering to defend your reasoning’s you had no idea, considering even _you_ knew you were in the wrong for trying to get dirty while he slept. “Flowey, it’s not like you haven’t been touching me and making the moves and--”

“What the HELL was in my mouth?!” Flowey was still spitting and, now, wiping his mouth with his own vines. _Damn,_ you figured it wasn’t _that_ bad, but he was sure acting like it was a big deal.

 

“Flowey I was just thinking that maybe I could--”

 

“WHILE I’M SLEEPING?!”

 

It soon enough became apparent that he wasn’t exactly _angry_ , more so that he was heavily embarrassed, considering his face was bright pink and he was refusing to look even remotely in your direction “WHAT-- WHAT ARE YOU?! SOME KINDA HORNY ANIMAL?!”

 

And to keep himself from screaming _too_ loudly, he suddenly turned his head and faceplanted(haha) into his pillow. _Then_ he proceeded to let out a muffled yell that was thankfully drowned out from the fabric. The screech probably could have made your ears bleed from how high pitched it had gotten, but it was long enough to give you time to settle yourself down. You were still embarrassed, but apparently you weren’t as embarrassed as Flowey was. Your body was still trying to calm down from its temporary high due to the adrenaline that pumped through you thanks to your perverted acts, so it took you a moment before you realized you probably _had_ gone too far with your sexual endeavors. And it didn’t help that you realized Flowey really _hadn’t_ ever done anything to you while you slept. Even after he had… well… _killed_ you awhile back, he waited for you to wake up before bothering to put the moves on you.

 

Maybe you had made a mistake.

 

“Ah… sorry…” You tried, fidgeting a bit in your position as you listened to Flowey’s scream calm to a silent huff. You figured by now Flowey might actually be suffocating himself, but you pushed on “I was having trouble sleeping, and after I ate all the snacks… I guess my mind wandered and I just--”

 

Flowey’s head whipped, his attention almost immediately directed at you “You _what._ ”

 

You stiffened “I was just thinking about how you always seem so--”

 

“No. Not that, you perverted moron.” Flowey slowly lifted himself on his tendrils, however he quickly darted off the bed and towards the obviously searched backpack of yours. When you first woke up you didn’t adjust to the dark so easily as he had, though since you’d been awake all this time you were finally able to see in the dark without the need of light. But that changed when he immediately stretched a vine out to flick on the bedroom lights, and you winced from being blinded. If you wanted to joke, you would have hissed and whispered ‘ _it burns usssss~’_ but obviously this was no joking matter. He was seriously pissed off, but apparently more so at you eating his snacks rather than preparing to ride him as he snoozed.

When your eyes finally readjusted to the light of the room, you bit your lip at the sight of the trail of crumbs you had lead towards the bathroom. You found it odd that he was more annoyed at the snacks having been devoured than you trying to get down and dirty while he was asleep, but there he was… sifting through your backpack almost desperately.

“I woke up because my stomach’s been yelling at me in my sleep.” You admitted as you carefully made your way closer to him. Flowey’s whole head was hidden within your backpack, and though any other time you would have told him not to be so nosey, you figured now was an exception since you did two pretty crappy things to him in one night. That, and after all the times he’s already secretly hidden snacks in your back, it probably didn’t matter considering he’s seen the inside of it plenty. “And before I went to bed I remembered you went off to make snacks for tomorrow or… today or something. So I just opened my bag and ate everything.” The more you spoke up and confessed, the more pitiful you felt you sounded. It sounded ridiculous that you had gone from hungry and _ravenous_ to _sexual_ in a manner of minutes-- not that you could measure time all too well since you first fell underground.

“They were…” Flowey finally emerged from your bag, his eyes had returned to their gentle hazel's, though they almost seemed panicked “They were portioned… they were portioned so that they would last long enough.”

 

“Long enough?” You rubbed your cheek, suddenly unable to look at him directly “Portioned? I… I didn’t realized you had taken such great measures to make them. I’m sorry, really I am…”

 

“And you feel okay?”

 

You looked back up and he stared right into your eyes. They were still wide, and they still seemed full of worry and almost a sense of _fear_. Had what you done really been that bad? All the signs; his organizing and his counting and precision… had you truly triggered something?

 

Arching a brow, you nodded, though you failed to admit the pit in your stomach was still empty “Well, yeah I’m okay… why wouldn’t I be?”

 

At your words alone, Flowey’s wide eyes had softened a bit more, before he slowly closed the bag “Hmph. Well.” After having closed the bag, his two main leaves on either side of his stem lightly patted the top in thought, as if he were trying to figure out some dumb excuse as to why he would be so worried over you. You would have loved to reach out and touch him, tell him ‘ _It’s totally fine to worry about me because you love me, Flowjo~’_ But you already fucked up so you tried to hold yourself back as he mumbled “Well… if you’re still fucking _starving_ after having had dinner already, I guess it wasn’t enough for you. I’m a little worried.”

 

The fact that he was worried about you made you even more worried about yourself.

 

The pit in your stomach gurgled only slightly, but it was soft enough to (thankfully) not be heard by Flowey. His eyes remained focused on the backpack, maybe pondering over what to say next, or waiting for you. You didn’t know what to say though. It would make too much sense to simply admit that your stomach was still empty, but all that came out was “I’m fine, really.”

 

And with that, he snorted as he made his way back to the light switch to flick it off “I’m sure.”

 

You could barely see Flowey in the dark now that your eyes had gotten used to the light. He crawled his way back to the bed, his form had gotten larger in size so his tendrils and vines were a lot longer than they had been while at your bag. Soon enough he was back in bed with you, though both of you remained over the blankets, and instead of actually getting back to sleep, you stared at the ceiling. You didn’t dare look over to him to see if he was doing the same, but you knew he was awake because his roots moved and stirred as if they couldn’t keep still due to restless thinking, and every so often they would brush over your arm or your leg. The feeling would tickle, cause a reaction of goosebumps to crawl over your skin, the reminder of the rush you felt from trying to get _dirty_ with the plant minutes ago, but then whenever he’d stop the feeling would stop as well.

 

And you would sigh quietly. And that would be it… but then the process would repeat.

 

“I’ll make more snacks tomorrow before we leave.” Flowey broke the silence between the both of you, trying to divert the topic towards the mission at hand rather than solving your internal crisis of _‘I still wanna try and top that.’_

 

“Sorry again.” You said lowly “I mean it, I didn’t mean to eat everything and… well, wake you up.”

 

“If I didn’t wake up from _that_ I would’ve been even more pissed off.”

 

You finally turned to rest on your side, facing him as he did the same with his head. His cheeks were still flushed, either due to the reminder of what _else_ happened other than eating the snacks, or because of your longing stare that you hoped was obvious.

 

“Is it so hard to… fucking shake me awake?” Flowey smirked.

 

You found your own body heating up and you looked away again. At least, you tried to, since suddenly you found a vine sliding around your shoulders like an actual arm comforting you, and the very tip had turned your head to face back at him as he mumbled somewhat grumpily “All you gotta do is ask, idiot. No need to try and do weird shit to me in my sleep.”

 

The pit in your stomach fluttered.

 

“Is it possible to top a tentacle monster?” You finally blurted out your thoughts. Almost immediately though, Flowey’s vine that had forced your head to look in his direction quickly smacked over your mouth as a means of shutting you up. You huffed through your flared nostrils as his eyes squinted “This whole time I never thought you were as dumb as you looked or acted but now I’m questioning everything I’ve ever thought--”

You mumbled, and he rolled his eyes before releasing your mouth to let you speak “Okay I know you’re not technically a _monster_ and those aren’t—tentacles or whatever but I’m serious—the only reason I was doing that stuff was because I… had gotten curious about if it were possible to… uh… _top_ you.”

“What does it mean to _top_?” He had a tendril brush over his chin at the word, and you groaned “Dominate, to be dominant… like to--”

 

“Seme.” Flowey snapped two vines together like fingers, and you gawked “ _What._ ”

 

“Like in those manga books Alphys used to read. The _seme_ was the top, and uke was the bottom—but I guess that was only for certain things.” Flowey had loosened his hold on you just so he could start dishing out whatever he had learned from Alphys “It wasn’t used in all her pervert shit so I’m guessing the question is am I--”

 

“Not everything you read and watch in Alphys’ lab is accurate, Flowey.” You tried, already getting a headache “Don’t get me started on how the real world isn’t like the anime and manga you’ve seen.”

Flowey snickered, licking his teeth as you rubbed your head “I mean, that _Space Monster Gummi shit we watched proved that the real world’s just like anime._ Or at least, the people in the real world definitely have _anime_ fantasies of tentacles fucking their brains out.”

You were speechless, and the fact that you didn’t respond indicated that Flowey could keep going “Well, anyway. What do you mean?”

 

“Flowey… it’s like this…” You sat up just a bit, shrugging away the few vines that had laid on you so you could get more comfortable “Would you, for example, be alright with me doing all the things _you’ve_ done to _me_ to you instead? Would you be okay with, basically, me doing--”

 

“Can you?” Flowey asked.

You wrinkled your nose “Can I what?”

“If all this time you could summon vines then by all means--”

 

“That’s… not what I meant.”

 

Flowey was ridiculous.

 

You tried one more time “What I mean is… the stuff we did back in Alphys’ lab, it felt like you were mostly in control… I guess when I was putting the moves on you I wanted to know what it felt like to be the dominant one instead of the one who just follows orders...”

 

The golden flower furrowed his brows “I LIKE being in control, though.”

 

“And I know you do.” You reached a hand out and softly brushed your fingers under one of his petals. Almost instinctively he leaned into your touch as you smiled “I had gotten so eager I just pushed everything to the side but… I would really like to try it out.”

Of _course_ before Flowey you had a few flings, it wasn’t like sex in general was new to you. However most of your partners had always been the more ‘dominant’ type who would much rather pitch instead of catch. But even if you found yourself naturally falling under the ‘bottom’ category and having dominant folks gravitate towards you, there was no emotion involved other than playful lust. You tried to remain detached, even if the other person found the night supposedly _magical_  and they wanted more out of it, you would push them off and be done with it. What part of ‘one night stand’ didn’t they get? You wouldn’t even _kiss_ them during it, so what made them think anything more would come out of it?

And that sort of life was fine for you. It was perfect for the longest time. Sex now and then if you wanted it, say your goodbye’s to them in the morning, settle with always being on the receiving end… and for the most part it was perfect.

 

That is, until this exact moment.

 

And to reinforce this, considering Flowey still gave you a somewhat disapproving look, you realized you _did_ care about what he thought and how he felt. And you _definitely did_ want kisses and intimacy out of all this. Go figure. The odd one out of your long list of _bang buddies_ was neither human or monster, and was soulless.

 

And you would much rather have him as more than a _buddy_.

 

“You’re not going to stick anything in _me_ are you?” Flowey pulled back slightly.

 

“I won’t be… uh… doing anything that we haven’t done before, I promise.” You said, since Flowey still stared at you with disinterest “I’ll just do the work and you can relax.”

You technically didn’t know what Flowey was ‘into’ when it came to kinks and… other sexual things. All you got out of the conversation was that he liked being dominant, which you were already used to. It wasn’t until the word ‘relax’ was spilled that Flowey’s expression seemed to also relax some. He shifted his gaze away from you for a second, probably to think over the proposal.

Even though you didn’t know the time of day, it felt almost around midnight due to the darkness of the room. This was never something you’d expect in a million years, to be honest. Having conversations about wanting sex at night with a flower after having ate all his food.

 

Flowey finally looked back to you, and the blush on his features returned “Alright. Entertain me.”

 

With that said, it took him almost no time at all for a vine of his to fully blossom. With a soft and quivering breath escaping from Flowey, the red flower had slid and lifted a bit beneath you, forcing you to sit up on your knees to keep it from pressing against your nether regions. You were truly shocked at how fast Flowey reacted—though now you questioned if he had been turned on all this time since it exposed itself so quickly. Flowey moved himself with the help of his other vines, shifting so that he comfortably splayed out in tangled and curled tendrils at the center of the bed. Though his head still rested on the pillow just so he could look up at you easier, he had one more vine wrap around your waist to center you above him also. He was really prepared to watch you work, and apparently he knew exactly how you were going to do it.

He might have been blushing, but Flowey wore a cocky and rather smug smirk over his lips as the flowered tendril teased and rubbed between your legs. The flower you reminded yourself looking similar to the red-ginger plant on the surface. And just from it’s light teasing your body naturally shuddered, and the familiar scent connected to pleasure wafted over your senses. Your vision had gotten clouded almost instantly, your mouth salivated, and you whimpered.

 

_Honey._

 

Flowey took care of your makeshift shorts, deciding that you could leave your shirt on since it didn’t stop his vines from sliding up and spreading over your skin. It almost felt like a giant hand was covering your whole torso, the warmth of his plant-tentacles had gotten rather _hot_ as you now knelt over him, breathing shaky breaths and not exactly knowing what to do with your hands. You knew what he was implying; it was obvious he wanted you to ride him—but you had never exactly done it before.

 

You know, due to the whole having a magnetic attraction towards people who like being top and not preferring to be ridden.

 

“You seem unsure suddenly…” Flowey almost said this in a worried tone. _Almost._ If you didn’t know him better than you did, you would have believed the concern in his voice. But even as he said this, a slender vine lifted to brush over your cheek “What’s troubling you?”

 

“I’ve never done it this way before.” You admitted, swallowing down your nerves to slightly lower your hips. The moment the tip of the already seeping flowers touched your entrance, your body jolted and lifted back again. It was as if instinct told you _‘No, anything but that!’_ But of course your heart was telling you otherwise. “I guess I’m a little nervous--”

 

“Tch.” Flowey snorted. It was apparent that he wasn’t exactly believing your innocent act. Not that it was an act, you were honestly nervous about this. So determined earlier, but suddenly with his attention dead set on you your nerves had crash landed into a sea of worry and embarrassment. After Flowey’s little scoffing noise, however, he let two of his vines wrap around your shoulders, constricting your arms and forcing them against your sides. Your breathing hitched from the squeeze, and as much as you squirmed and gasped in shock of the sudden action, Flowey just cackled lowly before grunting “Just _sit on it._ ”

 

And he pulled you down, and in a painful push the plant-like cock was forcefully shoved deep inside, sending your body into overdrive.

 

Your whole body sent you mixed signals, a mixture of pain and pleasure as you stiffened and tried not to move. Not painful enough to scream, but painful enough to sit as still as you possibly could. You breathed out heavily, wanting a moment to get used to him inside-- it had been a while, it made sense to take a moment.

 

But not for him, he was suddenly excited.

 

“ _Move already~_ ” He teased, already his vines were trying to lift your hips back up, but now you were fighting it. You were fighting it with all your might and it was obviously getting Flowey frustrated. Noticing you not lifting up again, his tugging had stopped and he huffed almost breathlessly “What gives…!”

 

“I said I’d do the work… didn’t I?” You gasped, your voice weak due to the state you were in “Why… are you so eager…?”

 

Flowey opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came.

 

As if he had simply done everything from pure instinct. So used to being in control, that he naturally felt the need to push you, and force you, even if you had said you’d try it out yourself. He closed his mouth then, his eyes calming as he looked away, and his hold on you loosened.

The vines that were practically like bondage against you had pulled off and dropped. Flowey let out a small noise of defeat, his head hanging low almost shamefully. But as two of his tendrils tried to slink away, you found yourself taking a hold of them and squeezing. The squeeze caused him to look back your way, watching you hold one vine in each hand. Flowey arched a brow at your action. You sighed softly, your fingers lightly wrapping around the tendrils as you mumbled “Use these like hands… and hold me up.”

Flowey took a moment just to look you up and down. Apparently, he liked what he saw, because afterwards he gave a small smile and looked back over your face. The tendrils gently, yet firmly, wrapped around your hands and gave their own reassuring squeeze before he mumbled “Okay.”

 

_T̵̛͚̩̗̜̒̈́̏h̴̢͍̜͍̊̎̈̂ẻ̷͇̗̘͔͗͑̕ ̵̨̼̞͚̅͒̕͠p̶̦̯̝͉͗̏̏̑i̷̡̥̤͍͐͑͘͝t̸̰̻̰͍̾̏́͘ ̵̖̰̼̄̒̍͘ͅį̵̠͉͈̀̌͛n̵̠͕͙̙̾̈́̓͘ ̷̣̳͍̰̌͒̕ÿ̷̢̝̜̺̉̎͋o̸͔̭̱̺͊̑̃̋u̶̧̞̝͎͒͒̌̃r̴͖͓̦̞̿͋̾̕ ̷̲͇̟̠͋̇͂̚b̷͔̥͎͍̍̇͘̚ȩ̴̼̥̠̎͊͒͝ļ̶̧̮̗͛͋̕͘l̸̨̙̦͕͒̽̀͆y̷̰̝̻̟͐̏̑ ̵͓̱̞̭͒̊̈̒ṅ̷̡̡̗̝̔̿́e̵̡̤̰̺͑̂͋̓ẻ̴͇̜̠̜͋̓͠d̵̰̙͍̞̒͐̓͘e̸̡͉̼͋̔̒͜͝ḋ̷͉̟̮͓̽̏͝ ̷̫̜̤̱͌͛̂̂s̸̜̝̝͓̋͋͘ö̷͙̠̱̹́̔͒̒m̸̼͇̩̩̓̓̕͠e̵̫̗̼̳̎̂̄t̴̫̪̗̳̊͐͐̾h̵͚̜̞̦̓͑̕͝i̶̟̬̫͎͑͛͆n̴̢̨̖̳̊̐̈́̕ǧ̴̡͈̠̆͒͘͜..._

 

And you raised your hips, clinging to his vines as you slid yourself up slowly. Just the feel of the rough edges of his bloomed cock made your body twitch and shudder. You were still in a bit of pain from the rough entry, but with Flowey finally managing to be patient with you, and his gaze never faltering, you found yourself gaining a lot more pleasure from your motions. His eyes were fixated on yours, but the way they seemed almost entranced made you somewhat embarrassed. He seemed pleased, and the small noises that would escape him as you rocked and rolled your hips were definitely positive. Flowey’s vines had begun to crawl over your frame, cocooning you as if any second he could pull you down and take control… and for a moment you almost feared that would be the case.

 

You even muttered, just as you raised yourself again slightly “Flowey… you’re so _needy_ .” You gave a small smirk, feeling his vines loosen their hold, but still remained draped over your form as the golden flower huffed breathlessly “Tch… says the one who tried to _fuck me in my sleep.”_

 

You moved your hips faster, feeling the head of his girth brush and rub the perfect spot inside you. Your body quivered, your nails sank into his vines that supported you, and you could feel your body naturally begin to tighten. Suddenly one of his vines had decided to help you out, pressing against your sensitive area and beginning to work it in time with your grinding. You squirmed on the heated plant, feeling the petals splay out inside you, feeling it twitch with Flowey’s sudden grunting. The heavy scent of sweet honey filled the room, along with your sweat that tickled your sensitive skin.

You gasped for breath, heavily breathing to pull air into your lungs as you rode him. You feel him twitch inside, the red flower oozing a sticky-sweet fluid that slipped down your thighs. The heat that filled the room was becoming overwhelming, and you found yourself moaning out. Almost uncontrollably, simply letting out your emotions as your hips started trembling. Your movements had become erratic, and the more pleasure you felt the harder it became to keep an evened pace. You huffed and slowed your motions after a bit, panting heavily as your half lidded eyes glanced down at the golden flower-- who stared at you almost wide eyed and awestruck. Which made sense, if your hazy mind could think that deeply about it. He hadn’t seen you get _erotic_ before. And after he had finished with his long and intense stare of wonderment, he decided to intervene.

Once more, you found yourself being squeezed. The vines that curled themselves around your frame were tightening all the while Flowey lifted a bit almost excitedly. Like this was his chance to finally enjoy the ‘show’ in a different way.

 

And this time you allowed it. And you felt them crawl.

 

The tendrils slid up your shirt, rubbing over your chest needily before slithering like snakes over your mouth. With it wide open and panting, Flowey easily pressed the tip of a reddened vine against your tongue. It only took one lick for the plant to blossom another head that seeped sweet nectar, and the reminder of Flowey having fucked you with more than just one before made your body stiffen.

And as he pushed the second flower into your mouth, your body finally gave in and shuddered. You let out a weak whimper, though it was soon cut off by a cough from how deep he tried to force his cock in your mouth. Even the other tentacle-vine was starting to shove itself more deeply up inside of you. He was no longer being patient enough to let you ride-- but that was fine now, because you were in ecstasy, merely waiting for release.

Flowey probably was too, since the moment you didn’t fight back was his confirmation of being permitted to do whatever he wished. The vines you held onto for support now wrapped around your wrists and climbed up your arms to bind them together, and he yanked them over your head as you arched your back forward almost lazily. Unable to speak with your mouth full, his hazy red eyes were still stuck on yours, but he was drooling from hunger.

 

_Â̵̛͚̻̬̟̂͘n̷̛̰̠̭̙͛̀̅d̵̦̮̩͉̏͌̑͋ ̵̙̰̩̳̈́̅͑y̶̮̮̼͌̐̇̋ͅo̴̜͈̠̩͆̐͂͋ǘ̶̝͉͙̹̔̌̚r̵̢̗̣̮͆̒͝͝ ̵̢̼̘͉̓͂͌s̸̱̪͚̔̍̇͜t̶̢͔̦̥͌̈͋͋ơ̴͈̗̣̭̆̈́͆m̴͍̫̱͍͐̑̋͠a̶̧̗̱͗̑̏̇ͅc̶͉̥̩͇̿̆͘͝h̸͍̤͓͖̒̂͋̈́ ̵̙̱̺͔̄͗̄̌ģ̷̢͔̦̀̂̀͒r̸̮̗͖̓̓̇̒ͅơ̵̘̞̳̼̎̇͗w̸̨̡̩̠̿̉̆̕l̵̨̪̻̪̾̃̂͘ḙ̴̖͚̲̽͗̏͘d̵̞̞̥̬̄͐̔̋.̴͙̗̦͇̏̾͝.._

 

 _“I want you.”_ Flowey wheezed, his smile had grown. The moment you let him take control was apparently enough to drive him mad with power. His grin was practically menacing, flashing his pearly whites as they clenched and his grip on your body tightened. He stretched your arms over your head, and spread your legs more just so he could pound into you easier. Your body quivered and shook with each shove, bouncing each time he pushed up inside of you. You were mostly supported by Flowey’s tendrils hanging you by your arms, since you had lost feeling in every other part of your body.

He panted as heavily as you did. Of course, you were only trying to gasp through your nostrils, considering your mouth was occupied. Swallowing whatever honey pre-cum he dribbled down your throat as the flower inside you started to spill. It didn’t take him long before his sinister and hungry smirk and suddenly shifted to almost desperation “I _need you_ …! Do you understand?”

 

The pleasure was overwhelming, suddenly you felt it. You felt him slam deep inside you and hit the perfect spot that made you yell. You yelled as best as you could with your mouth full, feeling him whimper.

 

In one last breath he confessed _“You can’t leave me…!”_

 

And he filled you. Your hole was filled with his honey-seed, and your mouth forced to drink his sticky fluids as you coughed and gagged. Your own body finally released, your climax bursting at the seams as you swiveled and rode out your orgasm as his vines kept at your nethers and groping your entire body. The red flower in your mouth snapped out, a string of Flowey’s honey slowly splitting to dribble down your chin, and you breathed out heavily as he continued to slowly, yet gently now, slide the petalled shaft in and out of you. His grip on your arms had loosened so that you literally sat on it with your weight, but you were alright with moving weakly on him. You still felt it, the pleasure still remained as you moved, and you would keep moving until the pleasure numbed and calmed.

Your mind was in a haze, and you continued to stare at Flowey, whose eyes were suddenly distant. As if he were looking through you now, like he had been before when he was half asleep, and he silently let a tendril clean the sticky stains on your lips. It was easy to tell when he had rode out his own orgasm, since he let out a soft sigh just as you had, and his slow thrusts had slowed to a complete stop. Your body relaxed finally, all that remained was a sore aftermath, and you weakly lifted yourself off of his already retracted length. Just as before, as if the red blooms never even existed-- as if it were a figment of your perverted imagination.

 

And you simply laid down next to him. You practically flopped into the pillow, and completely ignored that your hole was starting to drip from the shift in direction of your form. Flowey’s multitude of vines had depleted, and just like that his normal smaller form was all that remained. His face expressed nervousness, but he was silent as you felt your eyes grow heavy.

 

“The heat of the moment…” You explained softly, chuckling under your breath as he gave you a sudden confused look “I guess… I never thought I’d see you so _innocent_ looking… and I tried to take advantage of that… I’m sorry…”

 

“We’re even.” Flowey said with a small smile, a vine brushing over your face as you finally gave up and closed your eyes. You hummed “Even for what…?”

 

“All that… I’ve ever done…” Flowey said lightly, his vine still caressing you so soothingly. As if he were truly caring and comforting you, making sure you were okay. You could feel a tingle of something over your body, but it wouldn’t quite fully get everything. You ached, but in all the right places. He finished “All that… I will ever do.”

 

You were drifting.

 

“I don’t want you to leave me…”

 

The rest of his words seemed almost like a distant memory, because you didn’t hear them...

 

And you would wake up feeling sick.

 

_B̴̦̲͕͈͒̽̇̽e̷̹̦̝̙̾̆͋͗c̶̠͎̪̻̍̒̄̕a̶̳̖̤̞̓̐͒̕u̷̧͍͖͙͂̑̈́͋s̵̖̭̻̦̃͆̍̃e̶̱̖̜̓̈́̄͑ͅ ̷̨̪̫̪̍̿̎͘ţ̵͓͎̝̏̿̏̕h̸͈̮͓̼̅̊͠͝e̵̢̲̠͈͒̓͝ ̸͇̜̠̤͆̊̍͛p̸̨̛̘͉̲͑͌͝i̶̺̫̻̞̓̿̐́t̶̥̮̩͖̚͝͝ ̶̠̝͙̺̅̆̏̊ģ̵̳͔̲͛̈́̆̑ŗ̵̡͈̹͐͊̅͠ê̷̖̝̰͕̌͂̚w̴̨͇̞͈͑̐́.̴̼̭͇̪̋̽_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > *panting heavily* DONT LEEV MEH
> 
> >If there's grammatical errors forgive me, I'm going to a concert tomorrow and have to wake up early and it's 10:51PM right now and why am I still awake what am i doing with my life writing flower porn at a friends place everythings spiralling out of control--


	24. Determined to Love P.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You took in a deep breath, feeling your stomach trying its hardest to settle down. You knew Chara died… but was this how it happened? “Is this… how Chara died?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Part two of an epic three part series...  
> >One human, one flower, one... uh...... mission  
> >(makes dramatic explosion noises)  
> >This chapter is either really short or really sub-par.... i can't tell--
> 
> >I'm sick so my sense of time is way off, sorry if it seems like I'm either pushing out chapters too fast or too slow, this story is my main focus so I'll be more active with this than anything else but I'll still be all over the place due to illness.

###  **Chapter Twenty-Four:** ** _Determined To Love P.2_**

Frisk wrinkled their nose “What part of  _ ‘he’s dangerous’  _ don’t you understand?”

 

You adjusted the flowerpot in your hands, looking down at F̴̡͍͔͉̻͇̪͈̜̀̃̓̽͊̍̓̓̍͜͝l̵̡̙̺̬̳̥̲̤͍̤̑̀̽̃͑̐̐̽̓̓ö̴̧̞̘͕̪̮̰̲̯͇́̔̂̒̑̓̽͒͠w̴̢̜̭͓̪̥̥̪̰͒͑̓͂͗̋̈̚͝͠ͅë̶͓͎͕̰̞̬̱͔̙͔́̄̈́͐̌̎̃͝ỵ̵̨̹̥̦̣̤͔͍̆̿̏͗́̾͂̆̕͘ͅ who returned the look with a wide grin. He breathed out, and you simply smiled like an idiot “He’s good if you give him a chance.”

 

“How many chances does he need?” Frisk slowly lifted from their office desk, a red glint in their eye as they made their way around the furniture. They moved slow, yet swiftly, considering in the blink of an eye they had made it to their office door and locked it.

 

_ Click. _

 

_ P̶̥̣̘̩̰̯̭̍̂̈́̑͂͗̿̍̚͘͜ͅͅä̷̧̧͈̻͇͚̱̥͔͊̆̿͐̏̂͊̃̓͜ÿ̷̨̬̘͉̹̫̝͖͉̊̃͗͗̍̓̈́͗̕ͅ ̶̨̢͓͔̖̬͎̙̖̓̎̒̉͌͐̋̐͂ͅċ̸̝̻̥̩̮͇̳͇͖͈̋̍͂̂̀͌͐̍l̷̮̬͍̙̬̖̳̰͓͐͛̓͐͆̎̇͂͘͜͝o̸̢̳̳̜̘̖̠͉̹̽͐̉͆͗̊͘͜͝s̷͔͕̱͉̯̖̠̤̰̿̔̅̀̍͑̊̂̋͛ͅę̸̡̭͚͈͇͓̫̮̇̃̍͊͗͒̌͂͐͜ ̵̧̢̡̢̣̬͔̳͕̦̉̿̇͐̊̍̉̿͝͠ä̸̖̩͚̮̗͙̜̱̞͓́̈́̐̀̊͊̿̍̊̕t̴̰͈̱̹̞͕͙̦͕͂̏̓̇̂͛̔͐̔͘ͅt̶̡̠̦̬̼̲̮͇̤͖̑̏̑̽̀̓̂̌̎̆ȩ̴̰̫̩̞̦̠̗͔̞̋͐͐̊͐͛͑̂̕͘ņ̵̯͍̘̜͉̭͚̰̭̑̃̂̐̿͊͑̍͝ţ̶̛͙̦͎͖̫̱̼̩̲̆́͂͗̔̉͂̕͠i̶̧̛͔̬̼̲̦̦͔̪̻͒̊͐̈́̔͆̎̚͝o̴̤̫͚̝͈̦̰̞͊̍̐̊͂̿̆̌͌͌͜ͅn̷̨̛̪̪̙̠̹̲̩͚̑͊͆̽̅͘͘͝ͅ.̶̙̟͍̠̮̯̼͉̰̬̇̿̽̂̍͐̏̏̒͠ _

 

“He only messed up once.” You defended. Flowey wasn’t in your hands anymore.

“̶͙͈̱̐͗̾I̸̩̺̯̾̆͘ ̶̖̟͕̎͝͝t̷̨̳̬̉͐̔h̶͓͉̣͒͐̐o̴̯͚̤̍̀̓u̶̦̟̰̚͝͝g̵̦̠̗̈́͌͐h̵̨͇͚̿̈́͝t̶̨͉̦̋̔͝ ̵͓͎̻͗̎͘ÿ̴͓̗͚́̈͠o̶̧͇̦̓̍͊u̷̘͙̰̍̔͘ ̶͇̞̣́͋̔w̸͔̼̉̌̓ͅo̶̼͈͕̐̉̎ů̴͔̥̼͆͌l̶͖̣̰̐̈́͝d̸̗̻͉͌̒͝ ̴̗̱̈̈́͠ͅg̵̼̃̽̒ͅͅḯ̵̖̞̠͒v̸̳̲̹̔̀͊e̴̩̔͐̇ͅͅ ̴͈͓̮̊̊̑f̶̧͇̜̆̔̓r̴̺͈̖͆̄̔i̴̖̯̻̐̈́́e̷͚̙̹̓n̷̛̦͕͖͌̓d̴̬͚̳̈̓͝s̷̠͎͖͑̌͐ḩ̸̪̮̏͘i̵͓̭̟̿͗p̸̛͇͍̻͒͗ ̴̛̤̰̩̆̐a̶͉̬̗͂̍͐ ̵̡͓̜̀̂̒c̵̳̯̺̏̓h̷̘̹̠͋̋͝a̸̹̳̺͒͒͘n̶̝̮̰͑͋͝c̸̛̼͔̕͜͝e̴̛̥̬̙͗͒-̴̙͇̗̑͒-̶̧̟͍̈́̋̈́”̷̙̗͇͋̀̕ ̶̥̳̄̑͜Frisk breathed out, facing the door and not even bothering to turn around. The shelves that had once been full of books and research had all been emptied, all you could find were boxes full of supplies atop their desk. Were they quitting?

 

D̶̢͓̹͖̰͓͇͍̱͉͈͙̾͆̈̊͂̍̊͋̐̓̋̎͝ơ̷̢̛̟̼̗͚̺̩̤͎̲͍̜͋̌̔͒̐̾̂̂́̚͜n̷̗̹̖̹͚̼̠̗͇͚̝̱̠͗̇͒̄̈̋̓͊͘̕͝͝’̵̧̛͕̦̰̰̪͇̟͈̩̬͇̔̓̽̓̽͋̈́͂̂͜͝t̴̡̲̭̣̗͓̮͉̹̬̰̻̭̽̌̋̔͑̂̾͋̄̀̈́̽̕ ̴̨͕̠̠̩̗̤̯̪̘͚͚̻͂͗͋̊̏͗̂́̈́͐͘͝l̵̡̧̨͇̦͈̱̯̖̮̯̫̂̅̈́͗̾̇͗̌̀̽̑̄ě̸̗̲̭̠̣̹̰͓̜̘̩͚̰͋͊̓͑̃͒̄͆̾͂͝ą̸̨͙̥̟͚̣͈̹̙̹̪̿̔̆̀͌̈́͆̏̊̓̓̅͜͝v̴̝͇̯͎̤̞͉̣̤̰̦̜̈́̌̆̏̑́̀̔͂̓̚͜e̸͚̬̣͈͖͖̮̞͇͉̥̓͋̐̇͌̈́̋̾̍̈́͘͠ͅ ̸̡̜̞̝̭̻̘̣̞̺̆̾̽̿̂͆̎͂̅̓̈͘ͅͅm̵̼̙̱̝͎̗̻̝̟̭̫͇̿̃͛̆̏̑͆̈́̏͠͝ͅȩ̸̧͍̲͈̥͉͇̙̬͓̠̈̃̐̔͂̎̿̓̈́̉̕͝-̸̢̛̭̪̺͎̱̠̜̥̤̯̯̋͐̃̌͛͐͌̐̏͌͜͠-̵̡̛̗̘̞͚̞̝̞̘̟͙͈̣̓́̈́͂̿̋́͋̎͒͝

 

“Why don’t you trust me?” Frisk asked softly.

“I ḑ̶̥̰͍̞̼̦͈̪̤̳̳̻̀̿̆͂͗̂̈̑̏̐́͠͝ȍ̶̢̗̺͔̟̙̹̹͇̞̱̳̱͌͋͋̉̂̏̌̽̕͝ trust you!” You turned to face them, but they weren’t at the door anymore. They aren’t even in the room as they scolded, and their voice vibrated off the walls “Liar.  _ You’re such an idiot.  _ Falling in love with a psychopath. Don’t you see what you’re becoming?”

 

You looked yourself over, the room dripping away until all you are is floating in an empty space. “Who am I?”

 

“A̵ ̸t̵o̵y̴.̶” Frisk snickered, finally reappearing before you as darkness dribbled down their chin “He told you the Underground was his P̶l̴a̵y̶g̶r̸o̷u̶n̵d̴-̷-̴ who says you can leave with him so easily?”

 

You wrapped your hands around your throat, gasping softly as you curled forward. Somehow, you lost the ability to breathe properly, as if your throat was closing in on itself.

 

Your mom and dad laughed  **“̶F̸i̸r̷s̸t̶ ̷y̸o̵u̶ ̴b̵e̴l̵i̷e̶v̷e̶ ̴i̶n̴ ̸m̵o̸n̷s̵t̴e̸r̷s̷ ̴a̴n̸d̷ ̴n̶o̶w̸ ̶y̵o̵u̸ ̷t̴h̴i̸n̵k̸ ̵t̶h̶e̸y̴’̷r̵e̸ ̴g̴o̴o̵d̸!̶** **_H̴̢̨̹̳̮̮̲̺̹͊̍̾̒̔̄͂̏ͅơ̶̢̥͎͓̱̪̣̞̠̰̈́̄͂̑̓̂̋̎ẉ̷͖̥̩͖̘̯̜̮̈̒̎̎̾̌̈́̋̉̿͜ ̵̧̡̠͇͍͔͚̦̝͇́̋̓̎͋̇̓̔̔̕d̸̤͇̠͎̯̣̻̭͚̋͛̈́̑͊̇́͊̾̈͜į̴̛̥͉̥̥͇̭̜͍̌͆̇̓͋̍̾̋͠ͅs̴̡̛̥̭̺̭̱̠̼̱͂͋͆̊̉̄̆͑ͅg̶̡͚̪̭̭̰̻͍̼̍̒̓̋̇͌̓̆̕͝ͅṙ̴̢̢͓̺̠̥̲̲̻̓͂̔̏̅̓̅̑͘͜a̵̡̖̙̭̥̗̞͔̳͋̇͆͆̋̈͘̚̚͠ͅc̸̫̝̯͈͕̜͖̪͉͇̓̒̈́̾̅͐̔͊̚͝e̴͓̥̪̰͍̭̜̤̱̊̔͂̑͗͊͒̓̚͜f̶͙̬̯̣̳̘̬̻̯͙̽̇̈́̿͑̂̕͝u̵̡̢̱̜̝̖̳̹͓̠͌̾͌͆̉͑̍̿̊͝l̷̡̢̛̼̠̻̻̲̞̫͙̈́́̀̓̌̽̋͝!̸̢̦͎͓͇̻̠̼̝̓́̋͂͗͊͗̓͘̚ͅ”̷͇̟͙̯͉̤̺̝̭̰͛̈͐͋͛̉̕̚͠_ **

 

“He’s not a monster--” You pleaded “He’s just--”

“I really thought I knew you better.” Frisk coughed, spitting more black matter down their chin “̶̧͎̤̣͖͓̈́̏̅̊͝͠F̵̧̪̰̖̫̩͂̑̋͌͝ļ̷͉̙̥̱̙̄̏͌̂̕̚o̶̥͍̼̣͖̬̒͛͛̑͊͌w̶̝̠͙͕̰̄͐̆͗̿̌͜e̶̝̣̼̺̤̐̄̅̅͝͝ͅr̵̢̺̼͇̝̠̈́̿͑͌̽̿ ̴̛̲͙͎̠͇̠̈͆̆̐̈́f̸͉̖̱̖͙̦͆́̄͋͝ǘ̴͓͈̻̰̲͚̇̊̿͘͝c̷̠͔͎̤̥̙͐̄̓͛̈̾k̴̢̖̫̮͓̗̾̃̉̄͝͝ê̶̖͇̘̼̟̮̽͊̔̓̐r̸͈̹͇̜̦̳̽̈́̑̒͊.̵̹̦̲̳̠̥̇̈́͛̎̎̚”̶̘̟͉̻̖͊̋̎̃̃̐͜

You wheezed “Wait--”

 

Your stomach was starting to hurt. Really badly. A sharp pain pressed against your abdomen.

_ P̶̥̣̘̩̰̯̭̍̂̈́̑͂͗̿̍̚͘͜ͅͅä̷̧̧͈̻͇͚̱̥͔͊̆̿͐̏̂͊̃̓͜ÿ̷̨̬̘͉̹̫̝͖͉̊̃͗͗̍̓̈́͗̕ͅ ̶̨̢͓͔̖̬͎̙̖̓̎̒̉͌͐̋̐͂ͅċ̸̝̻̥̩̮͇̳͇͖͈̋̍͂̂̀͌͐̍l̷̮̬͍̙̬̖̳̰͓͐͛̓͐͆̎̇͂͘͜͝o̸̢̳̳̜̘̖̠͉̹̽͐̉͆͗̊͘͜͝s̷͔͕̱͉̯̖̠̤̰̿̔̅̀̍͑̊̂̋͛ͅę̸̡̭͚͈͇͓̫̮̇̃̍͊͗͒̌͂͐͜ ̵̧̢̡̢̣̬͔̳͕̦̉̿̇͐̊̍̉̿͝͠ä̸̖̩͚̮̗͙̜̱̞͓́̈́̐̀̊͊̿̍̊̕t̴̰͈̱̹̞͕͙̦͕͂̏̓̇̂͛̔͐̔͘ͅt̶̡̠̦̬̼̲̮͇̤͖̑̏̑̽̀̓̂̌̎̆ȩ̴̰̫̩̞̦̠̗͔̞̋͐͐̊͐͛͑̂̕͘ņ̵̯͍̘̜͉̭͚̰̭̑̃̂̐̿͊͑̍͝ţ̶̛͙̦͎͖̫̱̼̩̲̆́͂͗̔̉͂̕͠i̶̧̛͔̬̼̲̦̦͔̪̻͒̊͐̈́̔͆̎̚͝o̴̤̫͚̝͈̦̰̞͊̍̐̊͂̿̆̌͌͌͜ͅn̷̨̛̪̪̙̠̹̲̩͚̑͊͆̽̅͘͘͝ͅ.̶̙̟͍̠̮̯̼͉̰̬̇̿̽̂̍͐̏̏̒͠ _

 

_ Ș̴̡̲͖̫͎̂̉͊̈́͂͝o̸̢̡͉͕̝͌̑̌́͊̀ͅm̶͖̟͇̤͙̥͒̌̔͂͂̕ȩ̵̛̫͈͓̤̘̇͒̌͘t̶͉̱̹̯͈͕̾̔͋̂̑͝h̸̨̯͕͖̺̥͗̐̈́̃̐͗ḯ̴͇̲̮̗͎̹̎̐͐̽̇n̷̡̮̖̫̗̅́̆͛̃́͜g̴̢͉̼̙͇̩̊͂͛̒̎̊ ̴̜̗̻̙̘͙̑̓̃͘͘͠ṫ̶̫͎̭̬͎̞̐̚̚̕̚a̶͕̹̳̹̫͋̓͗͗͛̕͜s̶̠̗̥̙͈̮̆̇̈́̈́͆̏t̸̫̗͎̰͓̞̑̈́̿́̚ë̴̝̰̦͍̣̭̃͐̒̕͘d̶̥̫͍͈̩̮̍̿̃̈̈…̵̡̛̹̦̥̫͇̎͊̎͒̕ ̸͈̩̖̜͇͈̑̃͋̐̂o̵̩̱̖͉̯̊͋̍͆́͜f̷̛̬̜̤͔̹̈́̔̕͝ͅf̴̛͙͕̠̞͕͈̓̌̈̕̕…̷͚̫̻͔̬̮̓͑͐̆͑̚ ̷̨̡̲͔̙̝̈́̒͑̕͠ą̷͚̪͓̦͍̏̽̌̕͝b̷̜̬̻̱̟̆͒̅͆̑͜͝ơ̷̼̲̦̣̪̖̆̈͑͌̚ṳ̵͉̫͈͇͗͒̎̄̒͜͝ţ̸̹͚̻͔̗͛̿̋̂̀͘ ̸̼̜̗̜̠͙̐̐͒̈́͛̈t̷̨̳̙̪̘͕͛́̓̒̂͋ĥ̴̛̩̪̠̠̱͊̾̇͆͜e̷̗̫̥̦̰͎̿͗́̀͂̈ ̴̫͇̯̬̝̤̏̀̽́͝m̵̱͇̟̦̊͑̇̚͝ͅͅe̸̱̯͎̬̺͎̐̂̽̂̋ả̴̢̡͖̗͈̰͑̃͝ļ̶͚͇̲͚͋̊̽̆̅̚ͅ,̷̞͍̣͎̫̣̃̏̋̈́̅̕ ̶͖͓̦͚̫͌͊̂́͛͜͝b̵̛͕͎̤͎̺̪̒̒̓̕͠u̶̩̺̜͇͚̖̿̿͂̐͆́t̴̥̠̲̯̤͍͌̋͊́̅͗ ̵̧͓̫̟̞̎̀̽̄͐͝ͅį̶̧̼̩͚̝̈́̈́̈́̐͒̔t̷̺̘̝̘̥̗̎̂̒̍ ̸̟̺̪̟̹̺͒̃̆̈̔̋w̵̺̞̱̜̫͉̽͗̂̄̐͝ą̸̺̫͇̜͚̇͊͊̃̐͝ṡ̶̟̲̬̝͓̣̈̅̄̚͠ ̷̛̦͕̯̦͖̞̐̓͆̀͐d̶̗̺̭̥̰̱́̍̈́̍̑e̴̗̗̪̬͈̩͐̔͗̋̈̈́ç̶̛͉̤̟̟̒̊̄̾̏͜ę̸͕̳͎̬̦̑̌̈́̓̑̕n̶̢̝͖̠̭̓̉̓͑͛̈́͜t̸̢̨̯͖͔̲͆̍̑̓́̑.̸͎̪̲̞̖͚̋̔̽͌̀͗ _

 

_ T̶̼̪̱̝̻̭̋̍̋́͒͘h̸̛̟̠͙̱͙̥̿̄̓̂͠e̸̢͔͕̪͚̮͂̌̆͆͒͝ ̶̥̫͔̱̳̬̉̊̑̾͘͠p̵͓͔̖̗̼̲̓̆̒̐͒͊o̷̧͈̣̫͇̖̍̎͑̈̍͠w̴̧̛͍̹̻̻̐͒̈͘͜͝d̴̙̘̩͔̯͉̂̈́͆͑̃̓ȩ̷̯͈͎̗̤͋̿͊̎͘͘r̸̦̻̠̠͚͓̄͗͐̈͗̅ ̶̡̨̜̜̟͕͌̏̒͑͝͝t̴̪̱̞̯̟͎̒́̄͌͘ạ̷̠̪̼̩̞̓̽̂̿͌̋s̶̝̠͚͖͖̹̉͐͊͑̓͘t̵͇̫̜͈̦̲͒̋̉͝͠͠ḙ̸̡̛͎̲͓̖͆͑͂̄͌d̶̢̞̬̤̙̦͂̔̀̎͛͝ ̷̗̱̳̭̘̔̔̇̒̈͗͜ǔ̶͍̜̪͈̯͉̃͌̕͠n̷̰̠̲̝͎̘͂̌̍̌͐͝ḻ̴̲̙̜͕̇̽͌̆̾͆ͅí̵̼̱͇͔̟̻́͆͝ķ̴̛̤̫̯̩͗͒̑̈̿͜e̶̛̻͔̖̫͇͕̍̅̋̈̿ ̷̡̧͖̩͖͇͐̌̋̿͛͆ǎ̵̪̳̘̤̩̪̌̃̑̎͠n̶̼̟̣̺̹̻̉͂̊͐͠͠y̷̗̰̣͓̮̟̍́̏̏̂t̶̡̨̫̖̤̝̏̌̒͊̆͋h̷̼̝̰̝͕̬͒̿̈́̑͝͝i̷̲̰̤͚͇̦̅͆̐͋͝͝ǹ̵̢̢̥̜̦̞̂͗̏̔͝g̵̨̖̣̤͕̉͗͛͑̊̓͜ ̴͈̜̦̠̤̺̃͆͛̂̓̽y̴̞̻͖͓͉̯͊͊̔͐̃̒ȍ̴͈̖̹̠̖̘͆̔̂́̈u̴̢̨̳̮̯̦̓́͌̚͘͝’̴̣̜̹̲͇̑̎̀̀̈͜͝v̷͚̠͚͍̝̝̈́̋̄͝͝͝e̷̜̟͚̩̪̳͋͐͋̃̿̈́ ̶̙͔͉͎̜͖̓̋̊̈̈́͂ḩ̴̡̖̝͔̗͒̒̏̏́̕à̶̮͔̜̫͙̼͒̑̂͘͠d̵͉̬̭̣͎̥͒͗̎̈́͌̈́ ̶͈͚̣̜̹̝̃̇̏̒̇̚b̵̢̼̝̱̟̒͗̽͗̕̚͜e̴̬̲̱̪̘͗̆͋̎͛ͅf̴͉̟͍̹̜̼̋͗̿̍̀̍ǫ̷͖̟̲̙͉̅͐͂͐͝ṛ̶͕̖̤̭̔̔̾̆̎͜e̴̡̛̘̤̜̰̎̈́̒̕͜.̷̨͈̥̥̜͉̌̄̈͛̄̚.̴͕̫̗̙̲̹̈̽̓̉͘͝.̷̻̥͔̙̗͚̈̑̀̋̓ _

 

_ “̸̉̋̑̊̂͐̉͑̾͠͝…̶̓̆̄̏̽̇̊̀͋̓͋b̵̀͒͛͗̃̒̆̓̋̓̔̆u̸͂͌̓̃̋̊̽͛͌̐̋ẗ̸̋͌͆̊̆͋́͌͆̕ ̴̏̅̆͒̿̉̑̈́͘̚̚͠i̸̒́͗̓̈̆̓̂̌̾͘n̵̛̅̀́̈̈́̋̂͘̕ ̶̈́̑̆̃̈́͗̐̋̃̚͝t̴͆̓͑̾̈͂̊̅͛͑̚͝h̷̒̾̿̑̿̈́̅͛̕͠e̸̛͑̈́̇̎̅̿͂̈́͝ ̶́͑̂̋̄̿̃̇͋͘͝e̷͌̽̃̽̆͂͒̽̕̚n̴͑̾̑͂̈́̏̈́̅̅̏͘d̴̈́̽͒͆͂͑̆̓̋̑͗ ̷̅͊̒̆̎̐̈́̃̾̃͘t̶̍̑̿͋͊͆̾̍̅̄͘͝h̵́̔̐́̌̌̈͊̏̊̔̚e̷͛̆͆̌͋̌͋̈́͋̐̓̀y̶̛̓̉͊̍͛̇͌̉̔͝͠ ̸͐̋̅̈́͐̑͌̿͋͝g̷̋̔͑͑̀́̓̈̀̐͘͝ō̴͆̋̊͒̋̃̏͑͑̓̕t̷̊͂͒̈́̒̓͆͌̍͐͠ ̸̽̎͛̔͐̿͑̓̐̏͘̕a̵̽͌͐͐̿̿̒̏̈́͘n̷̒͂̿̀̄͑̍̓̍͐͝͝ ̷̛̽͑͊̄͆͂̌́̍͘i̸̒̾̆̑̍͆͌̿͒̆͘d̷̓̓̓͑͗̉̂͂̅͛̽̚e̵̛͗́̄̎̾̄̍̓͌̕̚a̸̎̇̾͐̐̅́̔̾͝͝ ̶̃̊̍̌̏̽̒̏͗̽ơ̸͆̓͆̎̈͋̂̋̉̕͝n̶̑̄̅̈́̏͆̓̾̾̉̚͝ ̸̛̃̀͗́̾͌̄̂͗̕͝h̵̅͆̑͒̅̀̀̊̊͊ȯ̷͂̊̊̾̅̅̾͐̋͑̉w̵͒̃̈́̇̈́̿̋̚̕̕͝͝ ̴̒̎̏̃̌̓͐̄͗͝t̵͌̈́͗̏͑͋̃̅̂̐̚ó̸̑̋͛̓̽̏͐͂̆̊̕ ̶͐̇̈͛̓̊͐͘͘͝g̷̛̉̈́̾͆̆̑̔̈́e̷̽̇̃̆̀̄̌͗̃͆͠͝ẗ̷́̍͑̉̓̔͐̌͝͠ ̸̀̾̿͑̉̃̓̔̆̓͝͝m̴̀̈́̅̃̿̅̀̇̉͂̉̕e̸͒͗̏̊̽̋̒͌̄̕͘͝ ̶̛͐̄̔͒̓̋̃̿̏̕͠a̴̍̓̇̈͌͐͐͂̐̚ ̸̈͗̒̍̍̒̉̎̾̌̚͝ȟ̷̓̎̂̏͐͝͝͝͝ừ̴̅̿̊͛͂̈̊͑͋͠m̴̽̍͌̍̈́͂̽̈́͋̕͝͝ã̸̉̓̀͊͐̾͊͌̕͝n̴̓̂̌̅̏̉̌̊͛̉͠ ̴̅̓͛̐͐̑̈́̿̍͂̚s̶͊̉͂̍̈́̈́̅͐̋̌̇̇ơ̸̓̈͋̌̿̊̂̽͌̃̄ủ̶̓̓̓̊̎̆̐͂̂̍l̵̍͌͆̓̔́͌͐͑̚̕͝ ̵̂̐̇̈̌̂̄̅̐̓͂̕a̴̛̅̊̈̅̓̑̆͋̾͘n̸̛̛͑̔̋̈́͒́͑́̈́d̵̛̾̀̓͑̇̐̔̃͌̿ ̵́̒̒͛̄̀̕̚̚̕͘͠h̸̛͐̅͗̔̇̀̔̋̇͂͛e̴͗̔̆͑͌̐̐̓͒̍͂̊l̶̄͊̀͑͊͊̓́̄̈p̶̀̊͆̐̋̉͗̎̔̓͘͝ ̴̛͆̍̈́͒̉́̌̎̈́͋͠m̶̛̄̇͆̒̌̓͛͂̐͝͠e̶̿̄̾͋̿̎͌̃͘͝ ̷̑̄̓̇̆̉̒̒̃̈́͝e̷͑́̎̍̈́̃͋̾̃̿̾͘s̷͊̈́̽̍̀͆̌̈̊̄̚̚c̷̾̌̊̈́̊̎͑̓̉̿̽ȁ̸̏̋͌̀̑̍̚̕͝͝p̵͋̿͂̔͋̐̍͋͒̓̕e̵̿̂̂͆̊͆͋̏…̵̏͒̑̔͊̉̈́͛͗̍̎͘ ̸̌͗̂͋̍̈̔͊͘̕͝ȧ̴̂̄̌̽̿̎̓͐̕̕ṅ̸͗̊̽̉̎̽̆̈́̈́̕͝d̸̽̀́̈́́͛́̽͂͘ ̶̽̾͋̇͑͌͒͝i̷̊̓̈́͋̅̃͌͗̀̈́̈͝t̶̓̆̔̆͂̃̈́̈́̈̚ ̶̈́̌̒͒͂͗̅͑̾̍̈́͝ẅ̷̆̑́͋͗̿͐̆͘̕͠a̴͐͂̈́̂͆͌̄̒̎̂̾͒s̴̏̆̑̃͆͐͛̂͌͝n̴̍̎͗͆́̔̇̀̈́̀̋͠’̵̛̃̓̾̉̓̓̐̓̚͠t̷̊͒̓̈́͐̂̓̄̎̄̄̋ ̸̾̔̔̒͐̏̍̑̒̕͝͝p̸̈́̓̏͛̌͆̄̎̇̈́͑̕r̸̋͑͊̔̅̿̊̏̔e̷͛͒͆̾͑͐̏̈͌͑̃͗t̷̃̓̌̄̓̀̽͐͐͘̕t̶̊̐͂̒̊̉̆͐̒͌̚̕ý̴̆̽̀̂͂̆̋͠.̵͋̌̅̋̂̇͊̍̾̄̕”̴̛̏̐͐͆̋͆͑͘͘ _

 

_ B̸͚͈̜̜̤͖̜̟̦̪̞͌̅̈́̾̏̒̅̓̌̒͝u̵̢̪̞̰̫̯̼̠͖͚̿̎̉̾̓̆͐̿̕̕̕͝ͅţ̶͓͔̬̟͚͖̯̜͈̟͌̏̄̓͐͐̆̔̚͠t̵̢̛̺̯̬͈̱̠̳͙͓̍̂̋̂̆̎̍͘̕͝ͅe̷̠͖̤̣̩͕̰͕̜̙̖̣͛̅̌̓͆̎̂̌̐̈́͝͠r̸̢̛̲̻̼̩̗͚͈͉̼͈̳̄̏̌̈͋̎̍̅͠c̸̜͚̟̗͇̹̥̤̤̻̾̋̿̉̌̇̔̽̍̈́͠ͅų̷̨̡̺̺͖̩̯͉̗̦̣̈́̆̃͋̒͋̃̅̊͒͘p̶̢̞̩͉͉̹͇̜̪̯͍̖̀̓͗̃̿̈́͆̍͌̈́͌̈́s̶͉̭̮̠̺̖̫̪͔̲̽̇̆̃͗̀̄̓́̚ͅͅ?̶̨̞̱̰̤͈̪̗͖̩̓̾͊͌̆̋͌̄͛̿̚͜ͅ _

Frisk spat, leaning forward and lurching onto the empty floor nothing but black and red gunk. 

 

But it was… funny. It was honestly funny as you watched them fall to their knees, puking over and over as if all their organs would spill out their mouth. 

 

It was so funny you could cry-- you could honestly cry.

W̷̆͆̌̑̑͊̉̀͆̔ä̷́̓͌̃͗̔͐̇̿̕̕k̴̒̔͐͂̐̉̒̒͒͝e̵̐̈͂̓͒̎̔̍͗̽͝͠ ̷̛̒̍̂̈́͒̏̉̓̅̓͌u̸͌̀͒̓̿͗̏̈́̀̿͝p̸̿̄̊̇́̋̈̃̍͠͠͝!̸̛̈́̑̉̿͐͛̽͊͛͂̈́ ̵̍̀̑͂̎͗͋͛͊̈͠͠P̶̓͒̈̾͂͂͠͝͝͝͝l̴̔́̐̆͊̈͂̎̄̾͘͠e̵̛̿̏͐̈́̔͌̉̔͠͝ȃ̸͋͆̉͌̾̏̃̔̾̊̕s̷̛̐͗͒͒̽̌̊̍̉̈͊e̴̛̛͊͐̓͗̓̈́͆͊͝,̴̛̄̋̋̆́͗̿͂̒̚ ̸̑̃̍̓̔͗̈́̌̔̾̊͠ẃ̸͊́̅̈́̄́̂̂́͝a̷̒̔̓̃̍̃̕̕̕͝k̸͛̋̽̍̍̈́̊̋͘͘͝e̷͐̓̾̑̅̿̓̆͆̋͘ ̷̛̓͑̿̋̂̍̀̋̕ű̷̇̋̂̽̑̅͂̈̐͑p̵̾̂́̐͑͑͊̚͘̕͝!̷͌̆͒̊͑͐͛́̏̌̍͘

 

Your stomach was hurting, and as you looked down you noticed something moving over your belly and under your shirt. 

 

With a quick tug to peek, there you saw it.

 

Your stomach sliced open, with thorny vines crawling out of the bloody passage slowly. They stretched, coiled and curled like tentacles as small yellow buds began to bloom along the plant life.

 

And yet deep inside, there was a blue glow-- and suddenly everything felt better.

 

N̵̹̹̼̈́̽̚o̶͉͙̩͂͛w̸̮̠̖̽̃͠ ̶̣͕͖̊̎͝p̴̸̸̸̷̸̴̶̸̧̡͉̞̖͚̲͎͕̱̊͐̈̐̊̑͊͘̕̚͘ͅa̵̷̸̵̸̴̴̴̷͈̙͔̱͎̹͚͎̱̻̔̄͛͂̃͋͗̚̚͘͜͝y̶̸̶̸̸̵̶̴̷̛̹̜̻͔̤̝͚̦̞̩͇̓̈́̒͆̉̂͒͗̉͘ ̵͎͍͈̈́̈́̅á̴̦͎̤̃͗t̷̨̰̪̄̒͘t̵͖̬̮̎̓͌e̵̞͕̯͆̍͘ṋ̸͉͎̈́͐̆t̸̩̻͙̂̿̚i̴̼̫̽̑̚ͅo̴̠͇̍͜n̶̟̹͈̈̾̚,̸͔̻͍̓̓ ̸̢̗̺̈̑ä̷̱̮̖́̾̈́n̸̙͔̰̾̍͝d̵̫̲͈̈́̈͠ ̴̞̹͑̒͆͜w̵̸̷̴̷̵̵̴̶̪̲͖̗̦̩̼̪͚̋͊̋͂͊̏̎̊̋̕͘͜ͅa̸̷̷̷̷̸̸̵̴̡͓̣̭͖̱̼̥͙̺͗̿̓̄̊̾̏̎͘͝ͅk̶̶̵̶̵̴̶̷̶̢̨̹̻̝͇͈̩̣̥̑̽͑̎̑̇̌̈̕͝ͅȩ̴̷̵̴̸̷̵̵̸̧̧͎̳̼̼̻͇̱̰̿̋͐͐̇̃̿̍̅͝͝ ̵̵̵̴̸̸̷̶̶̡͎͚͈͈͈̳̗̝̥̭̆̊̾͛̾̅̒̉̽̚u̶̶̶̵̸̷̸̷̸̼̼̰̼̥̘̤̳͍̦̾̿͋̌̆̔̈́̄̂̌̿ͅp̴̷̶̴̴̸̵̸̷̛̛̤̙̳̯̝͈͔̬̄̔̒̾̌͋̂̈́̕͜͜ͅ!̸̷̸̷̸̴̷̶̴̢̛̛̱̺͎̠̝̣͙͈͈͋̂̽̓̏͊͂̌͘͜

* * *

 

 

You woke up gasping for air.

Coughing, wheezing, struggling to find some sort of air but your throat wouldn’t let you, and your stomach gurgled. At least you knew it was no longer due to hunger, you knew because you didn’t wait for the ability to breathe before you jumped out the bed and dashed for the bathroom.

You blew chunks into the toilet. Loudly. 

You gagged, coughed, spat, you lurched everything you had eaten into that toilet and you could’ve sworn the toilet was sobbing from how much  _ murder _ you dished out into it.

And just like that you felt worse. Far worse than you could imagine.

Your hair stuck to your face and neck, your stomach continued squirming and shifting, and your whole body had gone numb. The smell you left in the toilet didn’t help, but you didn’t dare leave it as you clung to the porcelain throne for dear life. You had a fear that the moment you left, you’d only need to throw up again-- that and you couldn’t feel your legs suddenly.

“ **Fuck!** ” You heard Flowey at the doorway-- which apparently triggered your stomach to force more fluids up your throat and out your mouth. You spat and hacked into the toilet, sniffling as you felt mucus dribble from your nose, and your eyes filled with tears from the pain. Everything had happened so fast-- what the hell was going on?

“Get in bed!” Flowey suddenly demanded, but you meekly shook your head. You couldn’t even talk-- you wanted to warn him that the moment you left the toilet you’d probably end up needing to run back to it… but then again, you could barely move. You had gotten so weak in less than a few minutes… everything had gone numb.

You felt his vines grip onto your frame, but you immediately cried. Well, you sobbed.  _ Loudly. _ Your mind was in a haze, your body was being stabbed by millions of tiny needles, and the last thing you wanted was to get into bed. The vines had hesitated at your shouting, but they returned to grasping at you. You knew for sure they wouldn’t take you without a fight.

You thrashed, instinctively swatting at Flowey’s vines as he tried to get a grip on you. He growled “Stop you-- moron! I’m trying to help you!”

“I can’t breathe--!” You cried out, clinging to the toilet as you felt yourself gagging more. He was practically pulling at your legs, trying to drag you out the bathroom as you wheezed and shuddered “I can’t just--!”

“Don’t make me fucking-- dump you in the tub!” He threatened, but anything else he started to shout at you after that sentence seemed to drown out in your sobs of pain. You  _ really _ didn’t want to lay in bed-- and even the smallest touch felt like a painful itch under your skin. With a heavy huff you kicked away at his vines, leaning over the toilet to gag out of reflex. The sheer thought of throwing up made you want to throw up, but nothing came out-- this time at least.

And for a bit, it seemed as if Flowey had truly left you alone. You simply sniffled and hacked into the toilet as you held on like it would blast off and away. Your stomach was in knots and you were still trying to figure out how to fix all this. There was nothing left in your stomach to hurl, but your body really did want to get rid of absolutely  _ everything _ in your entire body.

Out of nowhere, Flowey splashed water over your entire body.

The sudden drench made you yelp in shock. You slipped from the toilet and hit the floor, before trying your best to lift your weight with your arms. Gasping for air, you found yourself able to breathe just a bit better, and you slowly turned your head to look at Flowey.

His own eyes were wide in horror, and though he had two vines wrapped around your legs, there were two other vines that held a now empty bucket over your head, and his leaves literally in a karate-chopping position as if he were truly ready to fight you. You couldn’t even imagine how disgusting and horrifying you looked, and how you sounded. Apparently, everything you were was enough to make Flowey want to drag you to bed, and splash water on you.

“Flowey…” You coughed, wheezing as you spat on the floor. You snorted, swallowing your own snot down your throat “Help me…  _ please…  _ I can’t feel…  _ anything… _ ”

Flowey’s expression didn’t change even a little, even as he mumbled “Let’s get you to bed…” and used his vines to carefully transport you back into the bed. You were mildly uncomfortable lying in bed in wet clothes, but apparently Flowey didn’t want to even try to remove them, since all he did once you were in bed was tuck you in. The blankets even felt too heavy for you, and you breathed out as you felt another wave of nausea wash over you.

“Flowey-- the bucket--” You pleaded, and he was already on it as he hurried back to the bathroom, as fast as his tendrils would let him crawl around, and returned with the bucket he had used to give you a reality-check bath. He held it out for you just in time for you to hurl into it. But there was nothing left-- your dinner, the snacks, you were literally throwing up clear liquids at this point.

All the while Flowey pressed a leaf to your forehead for a second, before pulling away as you had to lie back in bed.

“You have a fever.” He muttered, and you gagged “You don’t say?”

“It’s not funny.” Flowey tried again, shaking his head as he set the bucket down “This is… this is…  _ bad. _ Really bad.”

“I can’t get sick now…” You realized just how close you were to leaving the Underground. You’d find plenty of medicines and things to help on the surface, it was just a matter of pacing yourself and giving Frisk the signal. You could tell them that you were also sick, and that way they would come with medical professionals to assist them in taking you home “There’s no time for me to be sick… I have to get to the barrier in time for… for Frisk…”

You tried to sit up in the bed, but even that you couldn’t do. The blanket just felt so damn  _ heavy _ … why were you so  _ weak? _

“I have to… get  _ home _ …!” You tried again, but with a whimper and a sigh you collapse almost breathlessly into the bed once more.

“Not now you don’t.” Flowey said, taking the bucket and carrying it to the bathroom. You figured he had dumped it, considering when he returned it was empty “I’m going to make you soup. Sorry to say this, but you gotta stay here for a bit.”

“ _ Flowey-- _ ” You whined, but he placed a vine over your mouth quickly before clicking his tongue and sighing in response “No. Stay put. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

You weren’t sure what to say, so all you did was give a small nod as he pulled away and left the room in a hurry. And you easily imagined him hurrying outside of the resort so he could sink into the earth and fast travel to the Ruins to make you that soup. But you weren’t even hungry-- you knew for sure now that it wasn’t hunger that made your stomach upset. But  _ what? _

You felt horribly ill… and it was a mixture of wanting to keep throwing up out your mouth, or now suddenly wanting to throw up out your ass. But you still questioned yourself; how did you wind up with some sort of flu?

Maybe it was because you ate so much in such little time? You had a whole dinner, and then a few hours later, you ate all of Flowey’s rations for your trip to the old barrier grounds. Flowey was probably right, something was wrong with you eating dinner and then scarfing down all those snacks he had made… and the sex probably didn’t help either.

Eugh, even the thought of food  _ or _ sex made your stomach shift in disgust. But there was nothing left to throw up-- so you tried to simply lean your head back and swallow down anything that attempted to come out.

Flowey was kind enough to run out to try and make you soup but… you honestly doubted it’d fill you up for long. You could barely even get back to sleep you were in so much pain. You could barely move, you felt so weak, the whole room was suddenly boiling, and you were honestly expecting death again.

One more time, one more time wouldn’t hurt  _ too badly, right? _

_No,_ you thought. Whoever’s out there keeping you alive is doing this to NOT let you die. Not to grant you an easy way out-- you knew you had to fight this.

But god  _ damn _ you were shaking! Trembling even from just lying still in bed. Your throat was considerably sore, your head throbbed and pulsed like it were your actual heartbeat, and it felt like hours before Flowey actually came back with the soup he had promised.

Flowey had slid through the doorway of the bedroom suite, closing it behind him with one vine keeping a good grip on a rather tiny bowl of, what looked like, some sort of orange purée’d soup. Knowing fully well by now there was no meat down here, it was safe to assume it was a vegetable of some kind. It smelled foul-- but you hoped that was only due to being sick and not due to it actually being disgusting.

You hesitated, but tried your best to lift up a bit in the bed. When you simply couldn’t budge whatsoever, Flowey sighed as he set the bowl down and used his vines to also wrap under your arms and lift you up slightly. He event took some of the pillows and fluffed them behind your back so that you would feel more comfortable sitting upright.

“Thanks…” You managed groggily. Your very voice startled Flowey, to the point of him flinching slightly from hearing it, but he lowered his eyes back down to the bowl he re-picked up “Yeah…”

“What’s this…?” You asked, reaching out to the bowl to try and end the awkward silence. You figured you looked, sounded, and smelled disgusting at this point, but the last thing you wanted to do was also feel that way. Well, you did physically-- now all you had left was your mentality.

“Uh… sweet potato soup…?” He wouldn’t even look at you as you carefully took a spoonful and brought it to your lips. As if expecting it, he reached for the bucket at your bedside and held it up for you. With a small sip of the soup-- you were shocked that it tasted amazing-- and even moreso that your body still rejected it.

You had no time to even place the soup bowl down, instead you tossed it in the bucket as you yanked it out of Flowey’s grasp, bringing it close and hurling inside.

You gagged, coughing up the few bits of sweet potato you had swallowed down, and then some. You were starting to see stomach fluids you didn’t even know existed in your gut. And after that heave of your organs, you returned to sobbing gently into the bucket. You hugged it, embraced the horrid smell that remained from your puking, and simply let your head hang low inside of the metal bin.

You could feel Flowey brush a vine over your forehead, probably to check your temperature again, but it didn’t matter. How many times would he do this before knowing for certain you were going to die?

“You…” He breathed out meekly, his vine shuddering just before it pulled away from you. You slowly lifted your head to look at him, your eyes half lidded mostly because you couldn’t feel your face anymore as he finished “You can’t…  _ you can’t do this to me… _ ”

You shook your head in confusion, before spitting into the bucket. Your once clear liquids were starting to turn brown.

The sudden smack of the bucket startled you violently, and you jolted back and deeper into the bed you collapsed. Fumbling in the sheets, you hugged your arms to your chest as you stared at Flowey. His eyes were wide and wild, and his vines outstretched where you had once been. Even the thorns had elongated, almost as if ready to pierce your skin. You could feel your eyes well with tears.

“What’s wrong with you--”

 

“What’s wrong with  **_me_ ** ?!” Flowey snapped. You noticed that his own eyes welled with water like yours. An uncontrollable fear “Why the  _ HELL _ would you eat all the snacks at once last night?!”

You swallowed, doing your best to try and sit back in your original position on the bed. Flowey’s thorns had retracted, his vines shrinking, and you shook your head as you tried to blink away your feelings “I don’t… get what that has to do with anything…”

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̴̶̧̙̘̖͎̤̙̺̬̦̼̿͌̽̅̈́̍̊͌̕p̸̶̶̶̶̶̷̴̶̷̸̴̶̴̸̶̸̴̴̴̷̶̸̴̷̶̷̷̶̴̵̸̶̷̸̷̴̷̷̷̴̸̵̴̶̶̴̸̸̵̴̶̵̶̴̷̵̴̵̷̵̷̵̶̴̷̶̵̵̶̵̶̶̴̵̴̶̸̷̷̷̵̴̴̷̢̢̧̧̡̢̧̢̢̧̡̡̨̡̧̨̧̧̡̡̢̨̨̢̢̢̢̡̡̡̨̡̡̢̢̢̧̨̧̧̛̛̛̛̛̛̩̟̮̞̜̤̬̜̜͇̗͉̟̰̥͙̰͇͙̫͖͚̙̖̗͉̝̝̭̻̜͎̗̘̺̥̝͕̘͓̠͍̘̲͚̯̟̣̗̺̥̺͚̺̘̟̞̣̖̪̮͉͎̯̩͕̙̮͙̟̩͓̙̳̪͙͎̥̖̝̩̯̙͔̝͔͕̖̜̠̝̳̺̜̞͖̗̪̺͔͈̙̲͎͖̫̗̘̺̦͓̜̩̝̖͓̤͙̗͖̻̮͔̭̱̣̤̠̝̥͔̯͇̼͈͎̻̪̞͉̺͓̫̹̲͚̠̱̦̻̜̪̞̱̫̮̜̟̫̙̭͈̟͎͚̬̖̥̬̜̤̠̺̞̠̯̙͇̮͓̦̱̹̯̗̰͇͕͎̘̦̫͓̩̙̥̬̦̪̺̻̮͔̙̠̭͓͔̟̮͙̼̹̻̹̫͙͕̼͎̲̦̣̬͇̠̗̿͌̿̄̄͐͛͗́̊̃̽̿͛̐͐̀͑̓̓̅̽͊̅̀̏̈́̏͛̊̂͒̇͗͊̇̇̐̅̀͐̏̅͆̍̑̑̐̋̉͂̿̓̄̈̄̄̄̿̂͛̈́͌̅͒̄̓͛͑̊͛̏̃́͛͆̈̄̌̋͐̆̇̎̋̉̈́͐̉͒̌̆̈́̍̾̌͗̌̅̏̋̈́̓͋̄̒̃̒͑́̓͐̓̎͛̌̀͌̊̈́͆̉̃́͐̾̾̆́͌̌̄̐̂͒̊̌̏̇̇̑͂͌̋̽̅͋̎̃̓̅́̈́͒̀͋̾̿̎̍̈̈̿̐̉̍̏̌͑̈́̍͒̑̎͑͛̍̈̂̇̓̒̿̌̒̈́̑̾̃̇̇͛̿͑̐̑͆̒͒̓̈́͊̆͋̂̔̈́͛̑͋̒̾͑̽̓͑̌̈́͆̆̈́̎̄̊͊̒̀̕͘͘̕̕͘̕̕͘̚͘̚̚̕̕̚̕̚̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅͅͅͅͅṣ̴̸̵̷̵̵̷̶̸̸̸̴̸̴̸̶̷̴̴̶̵̶̵̴̸̸̴̶̵̶̴̴̵̶̸̸̷̸̷̶̸̷̴̶̵̶̸̶̷̵̵̷̷̶̸̶̴̶̶̸̵̶̶̶̶̴̸̴̴̴̶̶̶̴̸̴̵̴̸̴̶̷̵̶̴̨̡̡̨̡̧̡̧̧̨̨̢̢̧̢̡̨̢̧̨̢̧̢̡̡̡̡̢̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̰̦̙͓̼͖̘̱̻̗͕̟̩̤̩͉̜̳̺̳͓̙̠̤͎̗̙͎̘̙͕̭͍̖͔͔̭̻̗͖͖͖̖͙͍̣͚̠͕̗͔̘͚̖̦̝̭̼͉̜̯̲͚̱͙͕̖̹̬̺͕̗̪̟̘̠̺͓͖̯͕͉͕͉̘̲̲̹̘̳̻̼̫͔͉̘̤̞̣̳͇̘͚̭̻̲̦̰̟̰̖̦͈̤̼̭͕̰̣̖͔̥͔̤͖͖̣̦̤͉̜̳̱͇̭̣͚̥̩̫̮̦̖̦̟̻̖̞̹̳̻̳͔̟̲͖̪͕͚͍͍͎̼̦̳̘̠̳̞̺̣̭̭͓͖̟͖̻͎̤̟̲̥̲̫̝̖̣̱̯͉͙̜͎͈̹̝͍͉̩͔̭̘̣̝̦̻̤̘̤̼͔͓͇̼͇̺̞͖̠͎̺̻̝̟͖̺̺͉̪̩͍̹̜̰͊̒͛̃̈́̇͆̿͒̍̌̏͒̎͆͌̈̈́̈̓̀͂͑̋̑̌̎̈́͑̇̀̑̉̊̍̓̎̒́̎̋̾̈́̋̉̊̿͑̀̒͑̇̌͗̽̔͌͆̐̔͌̅̊̋̑̍̆̊͑̃̾̋̔̋͑̋̄͂̑̄̄́̌̂̒̅̆̆́̍͋̽͑̏̎̅̊͆̄̎́̇̔̈́̈́̈́̓̏̓͊͒͐́̽̈́̇̄̾̾̅̽͊͑̄̎̈̔̌̐̈́̾̒̉̽̈́̋̔̽̾̔͊̏̒͂͛̋͂̏̾̔͋̓̐̓̿̈́̈́̇͗̓͋͆̓̈̓̽̌̑̆̿̈́̒̌̾͛̿̿͋̒̈́̓͋̈́̾͌̊̇̓̃͛̑͑́͆̓̐͐̄̑͛͆̆͑̅̀̾̋̄̏̇̔̍̓̔̀̆͂̉̏̈́̓̀̃̓͐͗̆̏̆͛̾͒̏̈̄͆̐̑̕͘̕͘̚͘̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͠͠͠͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͠͠ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅ.̴̵̸̶̴̶̶̴̴̷̶̷̵̵̴̸̵̷̵̵̴̸̶̶̸̶̷̸̴̴̵̶̵̸̶̴̶̸̴̵̷̵̵̷̵̶̵̶̵̸̷̶̸̷̶̸̸̸̷̶̶̵̷̵̸̴̸̵̴̶̶̸̸̵̴̵̵̷̵̸̷̸̷̷̶̨̡̢̧̧̨̡̡̡̧̧̡̧̢̧̨̧̨̢̧̡̡̡̡̢̢̛̛̛̣̟̬̙̜͇̺̥͍̯̙̬͈͙̭̟̻̼̘̟̞̜̤̥̲̟̱̲̪͓̯͙̤͕̮͔͈̙̤̪͓͕̮̝̺̱̰͈̻̙̙͖͔̙̜̺͙̝̤̱̠̝̫̩̲̘̫̥͇͎̹͖͔̫͇͈̳͇̞̻̮̠̝̺̮̬̫̝̗̤̲̭̥̖̘̺̖̬̹̘̳̗̻̬̪̗̺͉̣̠͉͙̩͕͖̣̙͓̗̩̯̞͎͈̤͔̹̭͓̹͙̥͔̱̗͚̹̘̺̼͕̩̺͍̘̦̮̩̫͎̪͇͚͖̙̘̬̪̫̲̗͉͖̥̰̤̝̲͇̬͕̜̝̙̞̣̥̪̬͍̺̳̗̘̲͙̹̱̮̱̻͖̠̪̺̱̺͙͇̹̱͍̣̪̖͎̣̭̳̦͓̯̬̣̜̥̟̪̺̭̙͚͈̝͕̮̜̱͔̼̙͙̜̟̊̆̏͌̽̔̐͒̌͑̽̅̾͆̔̊̓̉̊̍̐͒͛͑̀͋͗̅̆̋̋͐̈́̋̓̓̐̍̀̆̇͗̿̃̒̅͗̋̋̇̌͌̈͒̆͒͒͗͂̅̑̋̏͗̊̑͋̇̍̄̃̈́̈́́͑͑̿̏͑́̋̆͐̈́͌̓̈́̈́͒̑͌̇̆̍̎̂̇̐̾͂̔͋̈́̉̇̑̓̾̈́̈́͒̌̅̃̾̓͂̃̊͂͒̇͆͐̅́͐̌͋̋͗̀͗̈́̌͐͋̀̈́̏̒̓̒̎̇̊͐̃̅̐̓̈́̂́͐̎̈̅̿̏̇̍̓̂͋͊̑̍͛̐̑͌̌̓̏̐͆̑̽̅̓̊̇̓̈́̿͐͆́̅̇̋̌̐̈́̒͋̍͑͋̈̋͛̊͋̀͑͋̓̓̓͆̔̎̎̓̋͒̾̍̌̊̅̎͊͊̌̈̐̾̾̾̚͘̚͘̚͘͘͘͘̚̕̚͘̕͘͘̕̕͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͠͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅ

_ W̷̷̷̸̵̸̵̷̶̵̷̨̡̨̛̰̤̙̫̝̻͖̺̩̤̝̫̼͔̯̜̩͚̗̥̲͉̦̭̯̮̜̻̮̯̮͎͈̦̖̟̖͕͕̟̪̒̒͋͋̊̃̍̍̓̒̒̌̅̐̅̎̅̇͛̾̿́͗͋̍̔̈́̽̎̓͋̔̾̋̊̕̚̚̚͝ḣ̴̵̶̶̵̷̵̴̵̷̵̨̨̨̢̧̛͈͍̲͇̫̘̗̳̣̻͕̜̹͉̮̟̭͈͈̮̪̻̘̟̗͓̤̥̙̘̼͖̖̩̼̠̼͚̺̀͂͑̋̈́͑͊͗̂̆̾̈͌̾͆̄̔̊̄̇͂̈̉͑͗͐͊̓͗͂̒̉̃̔̎̂͠͝͝͠ä̵̴̵̶̶̶̵̵̵̵̸̢̙̜͙͖̦͎̙̥̯̞͚̼̝̝̬̗̲͔͉̪̲̤̱̜͈̤͔͓̗̫̟͔̫͚͇̬͉͕͎́̎̈́̃͌̀̇̈̀͛̐͑͗̅͊̓͊͊͂͌͐̎̍͛̅͊̔̇͂͌̆͋͌̓̑̑̈̌͆̕̚̕͜͜͠ͅͅt̴̶̴̴̸̸̵̵̴̷̸̢̨̨̛͖͔̣͍͕̝͔̯̥̺̼͖̲̤̭̫̞̭̦̳̲͕̞̲͕̯̣̞͕̮̞̦̤͉͉̫͈̮̜̟̒͗̆̀͌̑̅̈́̇͑̒͛̽͛̐̀̾̋̒͋͌̔̑̏̿̏̓̍͐̒͛̑̐͋̕͘͘͘͜͝͝͝͝ ̴̸̸̷̸̵̷̵̸̵̸̢̧̨̨̧̧̢̛̪͇̣̫̻̮̰̰̯͈̜͕̪̯̝̞̜̫̜̦̲̖͖̯͖̯̞̮̜͈͔͇͍̹̿͊̅͂̐̈́̒͂̃̑̆̏͂̀̆̍̾̃͛̑̐̾͂̎̆͑͊͑̄̿͛͑̒̊̕͘͘̕͜͜͠͝͠ͅd̷̴̸̵̴̶̷̴̴̶̵̨̨̢̢̢̢̡̢̛̠͚̲͕̟̹͎̝͔͇͔͍̻̬̘̻̳̠͖̗̺̤̼͕̥̼͈͙͖̗̦̬̮̮̥̍̐̑̑̅̊̄̈̃̆̔͒͊͛̔͛̈̉̔̊́̎̄͐̒̓̅̍͐͂͛͊͐͛͑̕̕͝͝ͅờ̸̷̷̷̶̶̸̵̷̸̸̧̢̡̛̻͙͉̟̦̲̻̪͕͉̖͍͓̤̼͙̟̠̫̘̠̼͙̼̝̠͔͈̰͚͖̭̹͉͎̱̻̞̣͍͇̒̄͌̎͆̿̄͌͋̓͆̅̽̈̊̇̆̋̃̀̈͆̈́̅̈́̃̋̋̐̿̽̈́̑̕̕̚͝͝ņ̴̸̶̴̴̷̵̵̸̷̶̡̢̡̘͓̘̙͈̬̪͎̟̲̠̺̬̼̭̪̗̼̗̲̫͈̗̹͔͈̟͕̱͙̩̠͙̜̰̤̒̇̃͐͗͌̏̑̽̅̄͒̇́͊̓̋̒͋͌̌̃̂͛̈́̈̅͋̒̐̓̄̈́͑̿͂̏̿͘̚̚͜͜͝ͅͅ’̴̷̷̶̸̴̴̵̶̵̵̡̧̛̛̛̲̼̝͎͕̹͙̟̼͉̱̼͍̠͍̰̦͉̦̦͉̖͎͖̯͕͚͉͙̬̰̬̤̭͓̪̯̠̱̜̹͕͂̇̏͗̌̈́̎͋̈̏̉̌̑̒̍̅̏̿̈́̂̈́̎͛̊̒̅̈́͌͂̍̈̓̂̕̚͠͝͝͠͠t̸̶̴̵̵̵̴̷̷̷̶̡̢̧̡̧̨̧̛̛̛͎͍̦̗͍̦͇̦̜̼̘̮̗̬̗͚͚̙̟͉̯̦̤̗̭̯̠̯̠͕͇͎̲̲̱̗̍̇͊͗̐̌̏͌̊͒̅̑̓̈́̄̄̀̀̌̃̑̂̔͂̔̏̈̿̐͒̈́͗̈̕̚͜͠͝͝͠ ̵̶̸̸̶̴̸̶̶̸̴̡̢̧̡̧̛̞̝̤̥̫̪̠̣̗͈̩͉͓̗̮̠̘͕̦̩̬̞̳̦̘̱̼̘̦̣͓̬̘̫͚̉̿̊̾͊̋̏̊̃̇̒̏̃̽͛̓͊̆̈́̾̓͋̓̉̎̿̉̅͂̑̉̂̉̔̕͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͝͠͠ͅyou get…? _

Y̶o̵u̴r̶ ̶s̵t̴o̴m̴a̶c̵h̵ ̷s̷l̶i̷c̷e̸d̸ ̷o̶p̶e̴n̷,̶ ̷w̸i̷t̸h̷ ̵t̶h̸o̷r̸n̶y̴ ̷v̸i̸n̶e̴s̷ ̸c̷r̷a̵w̸l̵i̵n̴g̷ ̵o̴u̵t̷ ̶o̷f̴ ̸t̵h̵e̶ ̴b̵l̵o̷o̷d̷y̵ ̴p̷a̴s̸s̷a̴g̷e̵ ̶s̶l̵o̷w̴l̵y̴.̵ ̷

T̴̸̷h̸̵̵e̴̶̶y̸̴̸ ̵̶̵s̵̴̴t̵̵̵r̵̴̴e̷̸̶t̵̸̴c̴̸̶h̵̸̴e̴̴̵d̶̴̸,̸̵̷ ̵̵̶c̷̷̵o̶̸̸i̸̶̷l̸̸̵e̵̶̷d̷̸̸ ̶̴̵a̸̸̴n̷̶̸d̸̶̵ ̵̴̵c̵̷̷u̵̴̶r̸̵̶l̸̷̷e̶̷̵d̴̵̷ ̵̵̴l̸̸̵i̸̷̷k̴̶̸e̴̷̷ ̷̶̶t̵̴̷e̷̶̵n̸̶̵t̵̶̷a̴̷̷c̶̶̵l̶̷̵e̸̸̷s̸̷̶ ̵̸̶a̵̸̴s̷̸̶ ̵̷̶s̶̸̸m̴̴̷a̷̶̸l̴̷̴l̸̵̶ ̴̷̴y̵̵̶e̸̷̶l̵̴̸l̴̴̵o̶̷̴w̷̸̴ ̵̷̸b̵̷̸u̴̷̶d̴̶̵s̴̷̵ ̵̷̴b̵̸̶e̸̶̵g̷̷̵a̸̴̶n̷̴̵ ̸̴̴t̸̵̴o̷̵̷ ̴̶̴b̶̵̸l̶̵̶o̶̶̶o̶̵̴m̶̷̷ ̵̴̵a̸̸̸l̸̶̷o̶̵̷n̴̸̸g̴̴̵ ̷̸̷t̸̸̵h̴̸̶e̵̵̶ ̵̴̷p̵̶̵l̶̸̶a̷̶̵n̶̸̵t̶̷̸ ̸̸̵l̸̷̴i̵̶̵f̴̵̸e̷̵̴.̴̴̸

 

Everything fell into place for you.

And you felt sick.

“Me…” Flowey breathed out. He blinked and the tears streaked his already flushing face. But all he could really do was smile. His anger had subsided and turned into humor-- if not that, then it turned into denial as he confessed “It was me… I did this… I’m such an idiot-- I was so desperate…  _ s̶o̷ ̴d̴e̵s̶p̷e̷r̸a̶t̷e̷… _ ”

“Flowey.” You were having trouble breathing, your stomach started to burn again as you used an arm to support yourself as best as you could “Flowey, what did you do…”

He finally looked right at you, not bothering to wipe his tears as he grinned menacingly “The dinner… the snacks… they were meant to slow you down… give me time to think-- time to take care of you… but you ate them all, like a fucking…”

Flowey wheezed, as if trying his very best to keep from breaking down. It was far from too late, it was obvious considering to keep himself from name calling he decided to giggle like a lunatic “A monster would get sick-- a human would die…  _ g̶u̷e̷s̶s̴ ̸w̵h̷i̵c̴h̶ ̸o̴n̸e̷ ̵y̸o̷u̶ ̶a̴r̶e̶…̴?̵ _ ”

You lurched. But you didn’t even bother with the bucket, you let it all out on your lap. On the bed. A pool of reddish-brown fluid spilled from your mouth, and it most definitely tasted like blood.

“I was putting it in the food...!” Flowey confessed some more, daring to reach out and let his vines cup your pain-stricken face “It was the buttercups! But just a little-- I swear it was only a little and-- and you weren’t supposed to eat it  _ all! _ Why-- why did you eat everything in one day!?  **Y̶O̵U̸ ̵C̸A̷N̷'̵T̸** …!”

He breathed heavily, his vines that held onto you were tightening, and you could feel the thorns pierce your face as he stared right into your eyes. Red-- with rage or confusion you didn’t know-- but he was completely lost again “B̴u̸t̷ ̸I̶ ̷c̵a̸n̴ ̵t̷a̵k̴e̵ ̶c̶a̸r̵e̷ ̶o̷f̵ ̶y̷o̶u̸!̵ ̷I̷ ̸p̵r̴o̴m̶i̵s̴e̴-̴-̷ ̴I̵’̴l̷l̷ ̷t̵a̵k̸e̸ ̵c̵a̶r̴e̷ ̸o̷f̴ ̴y̴o̸u̷ ̴a̴n̸d̷ ̵e̵v̵e̷r̵y̸t̴h̸i̸n̵g̴ ̶w̴i̵l̶l̵ ̷b̵e̷ ̷o̸k̵a̵y̷!̵  _ See? _ I̵ ̴t̸o̵l̷d̷ ̶y̴o̴u̸ ̸y̷o̸u̴’̵d̶ ̸f̸e̵e̶l̶ ̴a̷ ̴l̴o̶t̷ ̵b̷e̷t̷t̵e̵r̵ ̸s̵t̴a̶y̶i̵n̴g̸ ̷d̵o̵w̸n̸ ̷h̸e̶r̵e̴ ̴w̴i̵t̴h̶ ̵m̷e̵!̵ ̵A̴n̶d̷ ̸I̶ ̸w̶a̷s̵ ̷r̵i̸g̷h̵t̴!̷ ̸N̶o̸ ̴o̶n̶e̵ ̶w̸i̶l̷l̵ ̸t̵a̴k̶e̴ ̴c̴a̸r̸e̸ ̵o̴f̴ ̶y̸o̴u̴ ̴l̴i̴k̸e̶ ̴ _ I̶ ̵w̶i̸l̴l̶!̵ _ ” Flowey giggled, it was short and  _ sweet _ as he caressed your face. But because of the thorns, it was more like he gave you deep cuts all over your cheeks “Sure this isn’t…  _ planned _ well but… you’ll  **_need_ ** _ me now. _ Now you can’t  **_live_ ** _ without me… _ ” He snickered “We’re even.”

You remembered the story he had told you. The story of how Chara got sick.

It was an innocent mistake that lead to a rather horrible idea on how to help the monsters escape the Underground. Mistaking cups of butter for buttercups sounded cute, but it made Asgore really  _ really  _ sick. And from this came the idea that Chara, whose soul was needed to fuse with a monster in order to pass through the barrier, would kill themselves just to let Asriel fuse and escape the Underground and find a way to get everyone out.

So Chara ate a lot more than just a few buttercups.

The only difference in this story is that no one needed your soul to get through any barrier. This was simply  _ obsession _ . Straight out of a novel you read about a girl who loved an artist so much she was willing to crush his legs to keep him from leaving…

“ _ But I don’t want you to die… _ ” Flowey snapped you out of your trance, taking your hands into his tendrils to give them a gentle squeeze. You yanked away from his touch “Die…? What…”

You took in a deep breath, feeling your stomach trying its hardest to settle down. You knew Chara died… but was this how it happened? “Is this… how Chara died?”

The name rang a bell, it caused Flowey to finally tear his face of insanity away from you. You persisted “Flowey… did Chara die from eating buttercups?”

“ **But you won’t!** ” He looked back to you and held your face again. It stung, your heart as much as your face as he leaned his own head forward to stretch it out, letting it reach and lightly press his forehead to yours “ _ You won’t die _ … I know better now… I can take care of you-- I can  _ save _ you... I  _ swear _ it. And I’m the only one… do you understand?”

Flowey pulled away and sighed, as if he were watching a romantic comedy about a boy and his secret crush “I’m the only one who knows… so even if you left you would  _ die _ up there… do you understand?  _ I’m the only one that can save you…”  _ Flowey’s tentacles started to crawl over you. He completely ignored the bile in your lap that now soaked into the bedsheets and your shorts underneath, and he crawled himself into your bed and beside you, letting the plant-life curl and wrap itself around you in a surprisingly soft and careful embrace “I don’t mind that you smell and look like shit… you’re only human, hehe… and you’re  _ my human _ .”

You shuddered, your body stiffening up to try and reject him as best as your weakened state could.

_ Not again, not again not again not again. _

Your mind reeled with disappointment, fear, betrayal… but also heartache. You cared so much for him, and while he did feel the same for you-- it was more like an obsession than actual feelings of… well…

Love.

He had been Underground too long. He didn’t know what love was anymore.

It was a problem both Frisk and Flowey shared, apparently. They love so much that they keep and lock away-- but true love was about knowing when to let go.

_ So let me go, _ you thought timidly. 

Flowey nuzzled his head against your arm, his tendrils had fully coiled around you like a spring as he held you, almost like he were trying to comfort  _ you _ when it was  _ himself _ who needed much more help than you realized. You felt gross, and  _ creeped out _ , and you were horribly  _ deathly  _ ill.

And you were officially lost. There was no way Frisk would give Flowey a chance if he were behaving like this.

Flowey would be trapped down here, and so would you.

A̴̷̴̸̶̵̴̛̝͓̝̺͔͎̗͔͗͑̈́͌̐n̷̴̴̶̴̶̵̛̗͉͈̺̰͔̤̊̒̌̋̒͜͠͝d̶̷̸̴̶̸̵̢͉̮̲̰̱̭̠̆͂̑͆̄͑͐̾ ̶̶̷̸̶̸̷͕̘͕̦͎̙͙͎͂̓̍͋̊͒̃̚t̵̶̸̴̸̸̴̺͖͚̪̼̳̮̖̔̏̈́̋̑̽̚͠h̴̸̴̷̶̴̸͚̦̞͈̹̙̰͚͋̂̎͌̄̐͑̕e̶̵̴̶̴̷̴̡̗̼̗̯͖͇͍̍̋͊̋͗͗̄̑ ̷̶̵̵̵̶̴̡͔̟̭̣̩͔̱̐̅̂͗̃̕͠d̸̴̶̷̵̵̵̛͍̲̤̖͇̼̰̞̋͛̂͌̓͘a̵̶̷̴̴̵̵̻͔̲̪̱͍̭͎̿̅͌̽̀͘̚y̶̵̶̶̷̵̴̢̭̖͔̱̯̜̹͊̽̐̇͛̓̒̋ ̷̴̷̷̴̸̵̠̫̲̺̝̪̦̦̂̒̂̆̋̊̕͘c̴̵̷̴̶̷̷̢̜̩̗̫͚̼̜̏̽̏́̎̌̚o̵̶̸̶̴̵̵̧̨̖͎̫̬̦̻͂͐̿͐̕͝͝n̶̴̸̶̵̸̸̨̺͔̲̭̳̿̐͑̑̄͝͝͝ͅͅt̸̶̷̸̶̸̵̡͉̹͓̜̻͇̉̾̒͊͂͗̚ͅį̵̴̴̷̶̵̸̼̞̺̝͕̦̤̾͗̂̄̃̚͝n̸̷̷̶̵̵̸̳̖̝̮̫̺̮̭͌̿͋̓͛̚͠͝ů̸̸̷̸̴̵̷͉̙͍̮̝̦̯̍͑͐̒͆͜͝ȩ̷̴̵̶̸̵̸̠͔̹̱͍̯͔̑̃̆̐̇̄͌͊d̴̵̴̴̶̸̶̪͕̮̹̹̼̟̪͆͒͐͊̅̏̈ ̵̶̶̸̴̵̶̡̛̱̙͎̱̫̪̰͒͒͐̌̍̑͘o̵̸̶̴̴̸̸̧͉̣̬̬͙̲̼̒̔̅͑̽̎͒̚n̷̴̸̴̶̶̵͓̱͓̰̫͍̲̮͊͂̃̏͛̂̈́.̸̸̸̷̵̶̵̧̳̰̮̖̩̳͛̉̒̇̓͆̉͂ͅ ̵̵̷̴̸̵̷̧̢̻̹̲̺͓̪̎̽̈́͆͊̋A̷̷̷̸̵̵̴̢̖̹̙̞̗̳̗̿̿́̊̉̾̿͝ṥ̵̷̴̵̸̷̷͖̝͈͓̥͎͇̠͆́̈̈́̐͠ ̶̵̸̵̶̸̴̡̡̡̪̜̼̮͈͋̈́̍̓̄̌̄͝h̴̸̸̵̴̷̵̡͍̺̖͔̞̬͕̀̔̍̔̉̃̑͘ę̷̶̵̷̷̸̷͙̯̝͔̞̃̽̋̒̑̏͌͜͜ ̶̷̷̷̸̴̷̡̘͕̰̰̙͚̈̑̀̄͂̑͌̈͜h̸̴̷̵̵̴̵̛̻̙͕̪̻̹̩͖̀͒̈́͊̓̓͝ė̶̷̸̴̵̴̵̤͎͚̝͇̳̲̐̂̑̍̎̈́͜͝ļ̶̵̷̷̷̷̸̹̹̯̬͇̦͓̇̒͗̒̇̃͘͠d̴̶̶̵̸̶̶̨̛̛͔̗̝͙̩̣̱̋́̓͑͘̚ ̵̷̷̶̴̷̷̱̞̝̭̝̙̯̈́̈́̈̈́̅́͗̕͜y̷̸̵̷̵̴̷̹͉͍͙̤̯̦̘̽̆̒́̓̂̽͛ơ̵̶̷̷̶̴̵̳͕̺̲̫̳̭̙̊͗͂͑̚̕͝u̷̸̴̵̵̸̸̡̹̪̞̬̘̭͇̅̌̈́̾̌͊̀ ̵̴̴̷̴̸̶̢̧̞̤̝̫͚̹̅̈͋̂͋́͘̕į̴̶̷̷̴̸̵̨̳͈̱̳̘̯̈́͆̑̈́̐̿̚͝n̸̴̴̸̷̴̷̨̧̫̣̠̭̳̜̉̊̂̊̿͛͝ ̴̸̴̷̴̷̶͎̗̥̺̝̠͓̗̍͒͂̊̏͐̆̐ḧ̵̶̴̴̴̸̶͖̙̜͓̻̯͎̗͌̏̃͗̈́̕͝i̷̴̸̵̸̸̶͙̘͙͉͕̱͈͊̿̅̀̑̽͘͜s̸̷̷̶̸̸̴̘̯̼̝̞̪͚̆̄͌̐̐͋͜͠ ̵̴̵̸̵̶̶̢͈͖̞̘̜̲͕̓͐̔̄͛̀̓̕ą̶̵̵̴̶̵̴̳̟̬̞̦̜͖͛̋̌̓̈́̈́́ŗ̶̷̵̵̸̷̸̢͈͓̦͍̱̟̓̒̋͂̾͘͝m̷̵̸̵̵̸̵̧̤̞̥͎̖̭̲̿͑͛̌̾̋͠͠s̸̶̴̷̸̵̸̨̺̲̩̝͕͇͖̃̃͑̇̍͗͝͝.̵̷̴̵̷̶̵̢̡̟͇̮͔͖̝̐̈́͌̈͑̉̃̈

Dammit, but don’t we all love people even if they’re stupid as hell?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Damn, I know I love idiots all the time.  
> >...  
> >ifmysignificantotherjustsohappenstostumbleacrossthisfanfictheniwantyoutoknowiloveyouandpleasedontkillme


	25. Determined to Love P.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You sniffed, sobbing as he ignored your weeping plea while wrapping a vine around your neck and forcing your head to lower itself just as he raised the soup closer to your lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >tbh i'm quite proud that i'm dishing this out faster XD  
> > But idk if it's actual inspiration or just my will to get this story done before the year ends
> 
> > either way feel free to critique my work! it's always appreciated! please let me know if errors or inconsistencies are around. I can't guarantee they'll be fixed, but they'll be noted for future works.

###  **Chapter Twenty-Five:** ** _Determined To Love P.3_**

You had to eat something. 

 

At this point, anything else would do because you were certain Flowey was still poisoning you slowly.

Thankfully, you no longer felt the need to vomit as soon as any food was forced into your belly—but you were still terribly weak to the point of not even being able to walk yourself to the bathroom. Flowey would carry you, help you sit, and though he would grant you privacy… every few seconds he would knock and ask if you were done.

 

_ You weren’t allowed to leave the suite either. _

 

But those few moments of solace were in the restroom, which you didn’t always go just to use it, now and then you went just to get some alone time away from Flowey who had officially snapped again. What had triggered him to go this route once more? The fact that you were so terribly close to the end game and it caused him to realize that you weren’t going to actually stay with him? Maybe that was the case. Maybe he really did care about you…

 

Not enough to let you leave, of course. But enough to force you to stay by poisoning you just enough to keep you weak.

 

It was honestly horrible, you had no walker or cane to help you maneuver, so you carried your weight with your arms against whatever could support you—mostly the bathroom sink since if you weren’t using the toilet you were simply staring at yourself in the mirror.

Your skin had started to yellow like the whites of your eyes, with dark circles around your sockets, and this all happened in one day. At least, it felt like a day. Truth be told during these situations you would lose track of time. Not that you kept good track of it to begin with, but it would be far worse when Flowey snapped like he did in Alphys’ lab… and now here, at the MTT resort.

 

Yeah, it’s probably been a day or two since he first kept you bed ridden.

 

And you were heartbroken that he would go to such lengths just to make sure you stayed.

 

A̸̸̴̴̸̷̸̷̷̴̴̷̸̴̴n̸̶̸̷̸̵̴̸̵̵̸̶̷̵̵d̸̵̵̸̸̸̵̴̴̸̴̷̷̶̴ ̵̶̶̴̸̶̵̶̶̷̷̷̴̸̷r̸̸̸̵̷̸̸̵̸̷̵̴̶̶̷e̵̶̶̶̴̸̵̵̷̷̷̸̸̷̴a̶̶̴̸̴̷̴̸̵̸̷̵̷̷̵l̵̴̴̵̴̷̴̴̶̵̶̸̶̷̶l̶̵̷̴̸̵̴̸̶̴̷̵̴̷̶y̷̸̶̵̵̸̷̸̷̶̶̸̶̸̴,̶̷̴̶̵̵̴̶̶̶̵̶̶̵̶ ̴̷̵̴̴̷̵̵̵̴̶̴̴̵̵I̷̶̸̷̸̶̸̵̸̴̷̷̷̶̵’̸̸̶̴̵̵̶̴̵̷̴̴̸̶̶v̶̸̸̵̶̷̶̴̶̵̸̸̷̴̴e̶̴̸̷̸̴̴̵̶̷̷̸̵̶̷ ̷̷̵̸̷̸̸̸̸̸̸̴̴̷̴h̷̸̵̴̸̷̴̴̵̴̵̶̷̵̶a̴̵̶̷̴̷̴̴̸̴̶̶̴̵̵d̴̸̸̸̶̷̷̷̴̴̴̸̷̴̷ ̴̸̸̸̵̶̷̸̶̴̵̷̷̵̵ _ e̸̷̷̵̸̸̴̸̶̴̸̶̸̴̶n̵̵̸̷̷̷̴̸̷̴̷̸̸̷̷o̵̵̵̵̶̵̶̶̵̴̶̸̵̶̷u̷̸̷̶̸̴̷̶̶̸̸̷̵̵̵g̴̵̴̴̵̶̶̸̸̵̵̶̸̴̷h̷̷̴̴̴̷̷̵̶̶̷̶̷̷̶.̷̷̸̴̴̷̸̸̶̷̷̸̵̵̷ _

 

You were heartbroken, but you also assumed it was a test. For some stupid reason you figured  _ ‘Maybe the worlds just trying to see how much I really care about him?’ _ Which, unfortunately for  _ you _ , was a lot. You cared a lot for him and his well-being. He could impale you, he could poison you, but it wouldn’t stop how much you cared for Flowey.

 

Like the Yuki to his Yuno.

 

And here you stare at yourself again in the mirror of the bathroom,  _ accidentally _ ignoring his knocking as he asks if everything’s alright. How do you tell him this time? Do you have to wait for him to shove a sharp vine through your gut and impale you like a rag doll? Or do you have to wait until you’re poisoned to death before you wag your finger gently like he’s a fucking dog and say  _ ‘bad Flowey, bad’ _ ?

Flowey knocked again “Is everything okay in there? You’re being  _ quiet _ …”

 

“I’m fine.” You lied.

 

Lowering your sick gaze from yourself, you looked away and down at the doorway. A small vine was already creeping from underneath the crack of the bathroom door, carefully stretching and reaching upward for the doorknob. Of course he didn’t believe you… he was paranoid now. Paranoid that everything you said or thought was a lie and against him. Paranoid you thought he was  _ crazy.  _ Which, technically, he had every right to be paranoid. Because he was right. He was insane and you were miserable and every now and again you would tell yourself you hated him  _ so much. _

He turned the knob, just in time for you to lose your grip on the sink’s edge and slip. Just as Flowey swung the bathroom door open, you slid backward and prepared to smack your head against the toilet—but just in time he had grabbed you with his tendrils and yanked you back up. As if he were braces for your entire body, he clung to you and helped you stand on your feet as normal.

 

First thing you argued was “I thought the bathroom was my private place. Why are you in here?”

 

Flowey defended “If I hadn’t been you’d be unconscious. The correct response is ‘ _ thank you for saving my ass, Flowey. _ ”

 

You coughed in response, and he simply helped you walk your way right back into the bed, where he tucked you in and  _ teasingly _ kissed your forehead. You knew it was clammy, because you looked at yourself in the mirror before he had barged in and walked you out. So him kissing it, let alone with him being a neat freak who hated anything disgusting or gross, was somewhat surprising to you.

 

He tucked you in so tightly you could’ve sworn you were feeling claustrophobia.

 

“Get more rest, okay?” He asked his usual rhetorical question, smiling through you as his tendrils slinked away and shriveled back into his flower pot that he had returned to walking around in “You look starved, so I’ll go and make you something to eat. I’ll be back before you know it, so just rest up.” Flowey winked at you before turning away and waddling himself over to the suite-room’s door “Don’t miss me too much.”

 

There were a few things you could have said in response to that, but instead you simply watched as he exited the room and left you alone.

But you were left to your own thoughts mostly, because now they ran through your head like a broken record. This time you had a chance of escape, this time you knew that things would turn shittier than they were if you didn’t escape while you could.

_ “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…” _ You muttered hoarsely. You felt guilty and ashamed, considering all this time you thought Flowey had gotten past this… but he hadn’t. He was dead set on assuming there was no way he could leave the Underground, and he was very certain that unless he forced you to stay, you would want to leave. He was right, of course… you didn’t plan on staying. You figured you would visit now and then, but you definitely didn’t want to stay and live Underground forever. You turned a new leaf, after all… you now had friends and connections to make, you had people to hang out with and enjoy the company of.

And you were so sure that you would convince Frisk to bring Flowey up with you… but… at this rate that was a definite no.

 

And then you returned to reality. Flowey was gone to make you food. And you were quite certain that said food would be more buttercup poisoning to keep you in your weakened state. Sick, tired, deathly ill… but not enough to pass out or die. He wanted you bed-ridden for the rest of your life just to keep you with him… but you knew you had to do something.

 

A̸̶̸̶̵̸̷̖̺͈̼̋̈̍̒n̸̷̸̸̷̴̴͔̟̻̦͛̇̒̔d̶̷̶̵̴̵̷̰̲͓̈́̅̿́͜ ̷̴̷̷̴̴̶̖͍̜̹͗̆̓͘t̸̴̵̷̸̵̶̗̹͓̫͑̃̈̾ḣ̸̵̷̸̸̴̶͚̩̱͉̓̅̇e̷̷̷̸̶̸̴̬̲͕̤̋̓̒͛ ̵̶̶̶̷̶̴̺͍̺̣̀͂͛͝f̴̶̴̷̵̴̶̖͖̙̰̔̓̍͠ĭ̶̶̶̶̶̶̴̭͙̘́̓͝ͅr̴̷̷̷̴̸̶̖̮̬̬̈́̉̓͠s̴̶̴̴̶̸̷̛͎̭̟͖̓͊̚ţ̷̷̷̶̷̶̶̱̤̝̈́̈́̚ ̷̶̶̸̷̵̷̛̬̬̲̪̌̔̕t̴̸̴̵̶̴̵̨͚̭̗͋͋͋͂h̴̸̵̵̸̷̷͓̰͑̈́̓̀ͅͅi̸̷̸̶̸̴̴̫͚̘̍͂̓͂ͅn̷̵̷̷̶̶̷̢̳͚̖͑͑͋̅g̶̵̵̸̶̷̴̫͖͔͑͠͝ͅ ̷̸̴̸̶̸̵̯̼̻́͌́̏ͅt̶̷̵̷̸̶̸͔͇͕̼̉̓̆õ̶̷̵̵̸̷̶̧̞̮̣͋̓͠ ̴̸̶̵̵̶̴̻̘̙̦͐̔̆̊d̷̴̸̵̸̷̵̝͍̺̥͛̃̌͝ó̸̴̶̵̵̵̸̲̝̜̟̊̅̚ ̵̸̶̸̶̷̵͔̱͔͐͌̽͜͝ẘ̵̷̷̸̶̶̵̡̭̭̭̃̈̕ǎ̶̶̴̷̸̷̸͙͚̩̖̒̂s̸̶̷̶̸̵̴̡̛̻̮̜͛̿̕ ̴̷̸̵̸̸̶̬̫͍̤͐̌͋̑t̵̶̵̸̷̷̴̛͓̹͔̦̉̓͗o̴̴̴̶̸̶̶̰̥͙̭͐̐̐̃ ̴̷̷̵̵̴̴͓̫̝̫̋̋͐́ _ N̵̵̴̸̸̵̵̳̣̠̥͐̊̅͑Ò̸̵̵̷̴̴̷̳̜̻̩̐̓̚Ţ̴̷̷̸̵̴̴̮̤̈̒̋͜ ̴̸̴̵̴̶̵̦̺̣̩̇̑̆̌Ę̸̸̸̶̸̸̵̛̜̦͎̿̈́͠A̷̷̴̴̷̶̴̫̹̯͓͒̆̿͝T̷̶̶̶̶̵̷̢̯̩̞̓̀͂͆ ̵̷̸̵̴̸̷̡͙͔̪̑̍͑̐H̵̴̶̶̴̸̷̗̯͐̆̉͌͜ͅÍ̸̷̸̵̵̵̴̜̠͕̈́̇̓͜S̴̵̸̷̴̵̶͇̝̠̲͗̕͝ ̶̷̷̷̶̵̷̧̼̥͔̋̈́̓͝D̷̵̶̴̶̶̷̲̱̥̰͋̀̏Å̵̷̸̴̶̸̴̞̫̓͆̚ͅͅṀ̵̴̷̶̴̸̴̺̤̻̲͆̓̾N̸̴̵̶̷̵̷̛̰̠̲̜̅͗̒ ̴̸̸̶̴̴̶̧̛̳̗̽͐͆ͅF̴̶̷̵̷̶̶̲̯̖̀̏͒̚͜Ợ̸̴̸̴̸̷̶̧͇͆̕͠ͅO̵̶̴̴̵̸̵̧̭̯̐̎̈̊ͅD̸̴̸̴̴̵̶͕̯̖̫̅̈́̓̍.̷̷̴̸̵̶̸̳̥͍̐̅͂̚͜ _

 

“Think…  _ think… _ ” You grimaced as you lifted your arms and huffed. Quickly, you threw the heavy blanket off of you and simply tossed yourself out of bed. Literally, you made sure to collapse just to get out of bed and onto the floor. You couldn’t walk correctly, and it had been that way for… well, if you’d been here for days then it had been a few days since you were able to walk on your own. No, your legs weren’t broken or anything… but you couldn’t carry your own weight anymore. You thought his food would help… until you realized you were still horribly weak and unable to take care of yourself. It took you awhile, but soon enough you realized that yes, he had been slowly poisoning you… enough to keep you alive and well, but enough to keep you stuck and dependent on him.

 

So then you realized what you had to do. You were disgusted, but you knew you had no other choice.

 

“ _ The face steak… _ ” You whispered, all the while literally crawling your way towards the bedroom door. Just the sheer thought of eating something that had been packaged away yet looked good as new for over any age above five years was disturbing and disgusting, but you honestly had no other choice and needed food that wouldn’t poison you. And at this rate, you even pondered if death was a sweeter escape than being at the edge of dying for the rest of your life.

Did your strength lie in your arms or legs? You couldn’t remember, and you took a moment to try and figure it out while you were staring up at the door knob that lead to your escape. Would you climb up to pull it or would you lie on your back to kick it? The reminder that you didn’t have much time to think sank in, and you found yourself struggling to get to your feet.

You let your nails sink into the wall, hoping it would grant you as much support as you needed in order to lift to your feet. It didn’t, all that provided was your nails scraping down the walls repeatedly, the old wallpaper digging under your nails and you leaving scratch marks like a wild animal were trying to escape. 

You were struggling for what felt like a few good minutes before you barely stood up. Even then, you only had a split moment of grasping the handle and turning it before your legs decided they had enough and you were sent plummeting to the floor again. With a heave forward, you swung the bedroom door open, and even when you almost faceplanted on the ground you managed to do so outside of the suite.  _ Bless _ . You were crawling your way carefully towards the station in the lobby.

 

And it was a disgusting crawl.

 

The main lobby wasn’t clean, and it would have been worse if you had to move any closer to the center where the mold and mildew of the gross water sprayed. But your shirt still gathered smudges and stains from strange places along the floor the more you had to drag yourself forward. By the time you reached the automatic doors of the MTT snack station, you slipped inside to let them close behind you before using the small magazine rack to help lift yourself up. You used the counter to support your weight as you moved around it towards the back of the stall, before carefully sitting yourself back down on the floor and opening the fridge.

And there it was, the face steak in all its…  _ facely glory _ …

Mettaton stared right at you as you took the package from the mini-fridge and brought it into your lap. It was easier to open than it was to actually scarf it down, considering once you had opened it you simply continued staring at it as if it were infected. Which, by all means, it could have been. You wouldn’t know for sure unless you actually took a bite. All you knew was that you needed food that wasn’t poisoned, and you figured something meaty would do. If Flowey was right that there wasn’t actual meat in the Underground, then this was just another vegetarian/vegan product made to look like it. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, right?

You gulped, knowing that you didn’t have much time left. Flowey took his time cooking, but he was always quick to come back.

And you reminded yourself that hey, someone out there wasn’t going to let you die. At least, not permanently. So you would be okay.

Using your grubby hands to lift the meat(?) to your lips, you sniffed.  _ At least it smelled like steak, _ you thought before taking a huge bite instead of a small one. It made sense, since you weren’t exactly in any position to complain. You took your time to chew on the big piece you bit into, however the more you chewed the better you felt. And suddenly you realized that the steak tasted a lot more like steak than Flowey’s meatloaf having tasted like meatloaf a couple days ago. As if super charged, you were given a rush of adrenaline in order to finish up the entire steak. And even when you were done you grabbed for the fancy parfait and opened it up to gorge it down as well. You were given a rush of energy you hadn’t had in a long while, and once you were full of food (that contained a questionable amount of nutritional value) you decided to slowly, and gently, stand yourself up to your feet. Trying to keep your balance didn’t seem as hard as it had on your way here, as if the meals had given you some sort of video game health boost. 

 

You did a few walking exercises within the little room of the overpriced market to make sure you weren’t just hallucinating, before you figured now was the time to go back to the room.

 

With your new found energy, you’d be able to punch Flowey back to his senses, and simply pretend none of this ever happened.

 

Because, obviously, you were in denial.

 

You could feel your limbs gaining energy again, but it didn’t mean you were instantly at your full strength. Though you definitely knew you had enough power to clock one upside the golden demon’s head, you still had to make your way back to the room carefully due to not walking in a straight line as well as you thought you could. When you reached the suite room door, you took in a few deep breaths as you plotted everything out in your head. You would act as if everything were normal, lie in bed and pretend to still be deathly ill and in need of help, and then when he was close enough you’d knock him unconscious with your left hook. Or your right. You were ambidextrous when it came to throwing punches so either one would work.

And with that routine planted in your head, you opened the door and stepped inside.

 

Flowey was already waiting in the bed.

 

“Where did  _ you _ crawl off to…?” He asked, in a surprisingly calm manner compared to what you thought would happen. The moment your eyes locked with his you instantly flinched—imagining he’d lunge at you, or hell just plain scream at you—only for him to instead ask you a quiet question, though followed with a scoff and an added “Or I guess… where did you  _ walk _ off to? Considering you’re standing on your own just fine suddenly.”

“ _ Uh. _ ” Was all you managed. You weren’t going to admit that you crawled your way to the concession stand just to eat something that wasn’t going to kill you as quickly as he was. Your eyes pulled away from his as you looked around the doorway to see if there was anything you could use as some sort of weapon to defend yourself. If he decided to snap (more than he already had) then you needed to fight against vines, and that was literally a battle of magic versus… well… nothing. You had nothing on your side and he had magic on his.

Either way, your eyes didn’t find anything to be of particular use, and your mind wasn’t quick enough. Apparently it was another one of his rhetorical questions, considering Flowey’s tendrils had crawled their way beneath you while you had stood there like a moron. 

Given enough time, they wrapped around your ankles and with a quick yank forward, you were tossed backward. You grunted as the back of your head smacked against the bedroom floor, and with a light breath escaping you, the vines wrapped up your legs and squeezed them until they were most definitely numb. You yelped lightly, but the noise either went unheard or ignored as you were suddenly swung through the air and slammed roughly onto the bed. Your face was smacked into the mattress firstly, but then you were flipped around onto your back. Your body bounced, but only for a bit since Flowey did his best to restrain you against the bed.

His main stem had grown, stretching enough to make it look like an abnormally craned neck as his face hovered over you. You were literally stuck against the pillow, staring up at him as he inspected you closely. His eyes had gone hollow, nothing but tiny beads of white light were within to appear like pupils scanning over you. And his mouth had started crackling, like an ancient porcelain doll overdue for being fixed.  _ Intimidation. _ He was trying to scare you to admitting any of your wrongdoings. But the easy thing about hiding your wrongdoings is when you know you’re not in the wrong. 

 

So whatever he was waiting for or expecting… nothing came.

 

And his face contorted back, shapeshifting to his original appearance as he gave you a small, yet suddenly nervous, smile “I changed and cleaned the sheets so you can sleep better. I know you’ve been moving around a lot at night so I figured it might just be the bedding.”

 

Right, because that’s why you haven’t slept well.

 

Flowey pulled up and arranged the pillows to help you sit upright better, and that’s when you noticed it. While he had you pinned to the bed with a few vines, a couple others were already bringing in a small bowl of soup. He mumbled almost incoherently “I brought you some food to eat… I know you’re hungry…”

You swallowed, the taste of the parfait and the steak still in your mouth. The reminder of what decent food tasted like made you certain you didn’t want any of his. “I’m not, I don’t want any—“

His vines pierced both your legs, and you scream out from the sheer pain that not only surged through your entire body, but you can practically feel it in your head. Your body sending messages to your mind, and then your mind doing the same all in less than five seconds as you squirmed and instinctively tried to break free. But the vines that had pinned you down were now nothing compared to the ones that had pierced your legs and ‘literally’ pinned you to the bed. You stared down at the pools of blood that began to stain the bed sheets, and when he looked down at them he glared.

 

“ _ Look what you’ve done. _ ” Flowey breathed out through clenched teeth. You furrowed your brows right at him, his face cracking horrifically as he gave you a menacing stare “I just cleaned these  _ f̶u̵c̸k̴i̵n̷g̵ ̶s̵h̵e̸e̵t̶s̴ _ . And now look at them… they’re  _ d̶i̴r̸t̶y̸.̵ F̶̵̸̡̘͈̳͆̎̈̕ị̵̷̸̰̯̖͂̌͐͠l̶̴̸̘̳̙̹͑̈͒̈ṫ̷̵̶̢͙̬̊̃͘ͅȟ̴̸̴̯͓̰̖̿͌̆ŷ̸̶̸̨̘̰̜̓̓͝…̸̷̴̢͓̱̃̍̇͗͜!̷̴̴̰̳̯͚́͋́̚ Ḑ̷̴̶̰̗̻̌͐̕͝i̵̶̴͎͈̳̝͒̓̏̓ş̶̴̶̯̮̘̋̏̕͝g̷̴̴̝̦̞̀̃̅̏͜ū̶̷̵͙͓̱͖̉̈̕s̵̷̸͕̘̩͓̒̄̓̊t̸̷̸̨̠̹̺̀̉̒̆ȉ̷̸̴͙͚̥̠̇̉̾ǹ̸̷̸̩͖͕̲̈́͝ǧ̷̶̶̢̗͍͚̐̃̒…̸̵̴̦͉͎̗͐̽̓̎!̵̴̶̼̗͇̈́̋͋͋͜” _

 

“Flowey…” You breathed out, trying your very best to hold back the tears that were collecting in your eyes. You didn’t want to cry, but the pain was excruciating. At this point, you would have much rather he killed you so you could come back and be done with it “Stop—“

“If you  _ r̴e̴a̷l̸l̸y̸ _ want to get better, you’d  _ e̵a̵t̶. _ ” Now his voice had changed. Shifting to an almost deep demonic pitch as he held the soup before you. When your eyes stared down at the creamy yellow mixture, you weren’t sure if it actually happened or if it were a hallucination… but you could have sworn a tiny yellow petal plopped up to the surface from below. Your eyes widened.

 

Your body was shaking.

 

“Don’t do this again…” You begged, now the tears forced their way out. You sniffed, sobbing as he ignored your weeping plea while wrapping a vine around your neck and forcing your head to lower itself just as he raised the soup closer to your lips. You pulled as best as you could with your newfound strength, pulling back as he yanked your forward. You could tell he was trying not to choke you completely, because every time you pulled back he would loosen his hold, just to tighten his grip again. 

“Not again, Flowey… I don’t wanna die again…!” The recovery was the easy part, the whole  _ dying _ thing was something else entirely. You’d still remember what it was like, you’d still feel it, it’ll still hurt on your way out.

“I don’t want to hurt anymore, Flowey…!” You sobbed quietly, yanking yourself away from the soup and causing a bit of it to spill on yourself. Thankfully it wasn’t steaming hot, but the warmth quickly evaporated as the stain settled on your shirt. “I… I want to be with you but… it can only work of we  _ both _ try! This isn’t right! This isn’t what you want I  _ know  _ it! So why are you giving up…?”

 

“G̶̴̶i̷̴̷v̶̸̵i̴̷̵n̷̴̶g̶̸̷ ̴̵̶u̸̷̴p̷̷̴?̸̸̶” Flowey repeated with a growl, pulling his vine away from your neck and carefully taking the soup back from you “You think this isn’t me  _ trying? _ If I wasn’t trying I wouldn’t be taking care of you—This is me trying to keep you from—“

“Love isn’t about forcing someone to  _ obey  _ you.” You coughed, trying to keep your focus on him. Your eyes really wanted to look anywhere else  _ but  _ him… look at your legs, his vines that still held you against the bed, the soup that had spilled and he was now setting down on the night stand—but you knew he needed your undivided attention or else you might lose him. “What about Chara, huh? You said… Chara was never nice to Asriel, and Chara bossed him around constantly, right? Did Chara love Asriel at all?”

Flowey’s features slowly changed, he grimaced at the memory but his grip on you loosened “No… that’s not what love is.”

“You’re right.” You nodded quickly, hesitantly shifting a bit to make certain the vines were loose and no longer had a firm grip on you “That’s not what love is at all. And going down this path… I can’t guarantee it will end well for either of us…”

 

A̴̷̵̧̺̣͈̓̄͆͘n̷̶̴̫̣̲̣̓̆̂͠d̷̶̴̩̬̺͛̃͑̌ͅ ̸̸̴̙̹̮̫͂̊̀̈́n̸̶̸̨̦̟̫͌̐̽̉o̷̵̵̼̗̻̘̐̊̂w̴̴̵͚̞̱͍͊̌͂ ̸̶̴̦̘̙̜̑̿̎t̶̴̷͈̪̲̣͛͆̽͘o̵̶̶̩̞͈̗͛̊̅̕ ̷̶̴̢̤̭̩̓͐́͐p̴̷̵̨͕̤̺̎̇̅u̷̸̶̖̼̝̭͆̋̂͌ṯ̴̷̷͍̙͖͒̉̅ ̵̶̸͈͖̮͋͒͗͜h̵̷̷̼̮̖͓̓̓̓̐i̵̵̸̳̜͈̫͂̏̊̅m̶̶̵̭̬̯̗̀̃͘͝ ̸̵̵̢̛͚̞̦̎̅͆i̷̸̸̖͉͖̳̒̒̆͊n̵̵̵̜̻͙̺̄̉̏̆ ̶̵̴̹̭̫̺̉̐̆̈́h̸̴̵̺͔̲̻̎̿̑͝ǐ̶̵̸̲͈̠̻̉͋͘s̴̶̶̝̘͈̜͐̒͐̐ ̸̷̷̫̣̖̳̃̈́̿̊ṕ̶̴̵̖͉͓̄̍̚ͅl̶̸̷̜͇͕̻̈̒̔͌ą̴̴̸̳̘͒̂̕͠ͅc̶̶̴̯̬̮̝̍̑̓̾ę̴̶̶̯͉̬̈̃̄̊.̶̷̴̻͙̗̃̉̎̌ͅ

 

You felt your mind begin to drift, even as he finally broke down and pulled the vines out of your legs. The thorns each took their time snagging your flesh and muscles back before retracting and fully pulling out, sending excruciating pain throughout your body. He apologized over and over again, and though you feel heavily weakened suddenly, you realize you also don’t fear him either. Maybe it was the fact that you had been through his episode before and now it felt so  _ overdone _ ? Either way, you opened your arms and easily embraced him. You held him as he nuzzled his head into your neck, wrapped his vines around you, and he could have easily ended your life with your defenses down.

“No matter what… I will try to _ save you…” _

 

You tried to reassure him… but you noticed your voice was growing faint.

 

“I-I don’t blame you for anything…! I really don’t…!” Flowey had broken down into sobs, you could feel him writhe against you in confusing motions. Every now and then he would cry against you, but another moment he would try to pull away as if he didn’t want you to touch him. He was confused about himself and everything that was happening. His emotions were overwhelming him again. “If you really wanna go, I don’t blame you… this is who I am… I’ve always been this way…! It won’t change-- don’t you get it? I don’t deserve your kindness or empathy… this is who I am and I’ll always be this confusing bundle of  _ S̷̷̸̸̷̵̴̰̳̳͙̘̮̝̗̍́͌̂̒̃͂͘H̴̷̶̶̵̷̶̺̗̗̯͎̟̣̦̍́̊̎̽̾̇͗I̴̸̶̷̵̵̷͙̮͚̙̺̼̻̲͂̈́̍̍̈̌̅̕T̶̸̴̸̸̵̶̼͍̹͙͕͎͓͓̓̎̂̏̌̚̚͝!̴̴̸̶̷̴̵̨̡̡̤͚̙͕̮́͗͛̅̃́͋͘ _ ” 

For a second, his vines that had been once delicately wrapped around you as a means of a hug had constricted, but it only lasted for a moment before they weakened and he shuddered “I’m just… you’re so forgiving every time… why? How are you so--”

“I won’t leave without you, okay?” You try to hush him, keep him away from his thoughts as you feel the blood loss causing your focus to waver. You’ll fall asleep, and he’ll notice and heal you… that’s just the way it’s always been “I’m not going to give up on you, Flowey. We’re both going, or we’re both staying… I promise.”

Flowey lifted his head slowly to look up towards you, but your eyes only saw him as a blur as he asked “Do you mean it…?”

 

_ “But you can’t think of yourself as above consequences, not anymore.” _

 

Flowey’s trembling body had almost immediately froze, and he mumbled “I know… _I know and I understand I’m just…_ _really_ used to trying to defend myself-- I have to realize that I care about someone else now… and I want to make sure you’re okay and that--”

 

_ “I̸̟̒ ̶͍̔ḓ̶̂ō̴ͅń̵̠’̷͉̽t̴͍͘ ̸̭̿b̶͕̐e̴̼̕l̸͇͐i̸͙͂e̴͖͌v̷̘̓e̸͑͜ ̸̫̑y̸͕͒o̴͕u̴͓͗.̵̪̍” _

 

You smile-- No wait,  _ I smile _ as you drift far away in the back of your head. Watching in lazy confusion as I grip his vine and squeeze, choke him, make certain he understands everything I’m about to say.

 

_ “̸̸̵I̶̷̸f̵̷̵ ̸̶̵y̸̷̵o̵̷̶u̷̷̶ ̵̸̴t̸̸̵r̶̷̷y̴̴̸ ̴̷̷t̷̶̸o̵̶̶ ̸̷̶k̷̸̷i̷̷̷l̶̶̷l̴̵̵ ̶̶̵t̴̵̴h̸̵̴e̷̵̵m̶̷̷ ̷̷̴a̵̵̸g̸̶̷a̸̸̶i̴̵̵n̶̸̸…̷̵̷ ̸̸̵y̴̴̷o̷̷̷u̸̸̴’̶̶̷r̶̷̴e̷̷̸ ̵̵̵d̶̴̷e̵̴̶a̵̶̵d̸̴̸.̸̸̴ ̶̴̵A̶̷̶n̵̷̴d̴̸̶ ̸̵̵I̴̴̷’̵̷̸l̴̸̵l̸̵̷ ̵̵̴m̴̸̴a̷̸̶k̷̸̷e̷̸̵ ̵̷̴g̸̶̵o̶̴̵d̶̸̶ ̶̶̵d̶̶̴a̵̴̵m̵̷̸n̴̸̵ ̶̴̷s̵̸̷u̷̷̵r̵̸̷e̸̷̵ ̷̵̴y̸̵̸o̸̶̷u̸̴̷ ̸̴̵w̸̴̵o̷̷̴n̷̴̸’̸̵̷t̴̸̷ ̸̴̸b̴̸̶e̵̶̶ ̷̸̷c̵̸̷o̴̸̷m̷̷̵i̴̸̴n̵̵̸g̷̷̴ ̶̵̷b̵̴̷a̸̵̴c̵̷̷k̶̶̵.̵̶̶”̵̸̶ _

 

_ Flowey…  _ You whisper to no one in particular. You reach out-- at least you think you do.  _ It’s not me, _ you sigh,  _ it’s not me… _

 

And I’m not a bad guy. In fact, I’m the angel on your shoulder telling you that it’s time to reevaluate your priorities. And with this reaffirmed sense of JUSTICE greatly borrowed and well used, I let Flowey go.

 

With your DETERMINATION dwindling, I’m around long enough to hear him nervously yelp out  _ “O-Okay--! I won’t do anything! I swear--” _

 

And the main character reclaims their role, before it’s time to sleep.

 

You need your rest. 

 

After all…

 

_ O̶n̷e̴ ̷m̶o̶r̴e̵ ̸d̶a̶y̵ ̷c̴o̷u̴l̵d̷n̷’̵t̸ ̴h̶u̵r̵t̸,̵ ̶r̵i̸g̵h̴t̸?̵ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > The main character reclaims their throne...
> 
> > And we reach another discovery in the tale...
> 
> > That within this form you own...
> 
> > Two souls dwell.


	26. ✡︎░◆︎ ✋︎♎︎♓︎▓⧫︎

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The void is too strong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > FOREVER AND A HALF AGO AN AWESOME PERSON NAMED xbunnybunz MADE ME FANART OF OMEGA FLOWEY AND I NEVER POSTED IT UP HERE SCREAMS [HERE LOOK AT THIS GREAT SHIT ](https://xbunnybunz.tumblr.com/post/162368494990/your-best-friend-for-newspaper-on-ao3-love-your)  
> >As always, FAN ART IS APPRECIATED AND LOVED GREATLY! You want to share something with me then by all means comment your work of art on any chapter and I will edit the notes of said chapter to flaunt it out
> 
> >in the end notes I'm gonna go over some thoughts about this tale since we've reached a breaking point so to speak, so bear with me if it seems long as hell cuz today's chapter will be a little corner of discussion and discovery. <3
> 
> >EDIT:: The wingdings keep fucking up so I'll have to get rid of them XD; so excitement I guess sobs ;w; sorry if the notifications are spamming you guys, its only cuz i kept having to re-edit again and again

###  **Chapter Twenty-Six:** _✡︎░◆︎ ✋︎♎︎♓︎▓⧫︎_

Yesterday felt almost dream like. When you first opened your eyes everything was a blur, and you had that split-second memory loss… confused about where you were, what had even happened, and you even questioned who you really are.

Your soul radiated in your chest, you could feel it dance to the rhythm of your breathing. And for a moment you thought you saw it glow underneath the blankets, but before you could even look down the feeling and thought had passed, and everything was normal again. You remembered where you are, you remembered everything that had happened, and you definitely knew who you were.

Mettaton’s Resort, Flowey’s break down(and your own, honestly), and you were the one still determined to save Flowey.

…

You awakened with ease, slowly lifting yourself up in the bed and browsing the room with your eyes. As if nothing had ever happened, the room was spotless and clean… even the bedsheets had somehow been cleaned up, making you question if Flowey had moved you somewhere else temporarily before placing you back into bed.

_…Flowey._

Your mind reminded yourself of the things that had happened yesterday before passing out. You lifted the blanket to look down at your legs, of course not surprised to find that they had been fully healed as if someone bought you a brand new pair.  When you lowered the blanket back down, you only let yourself rest for a moment before deciding you needed a bath. If you were going to head out today, you wanted to be clean again.

Your mouth still had the taste of vomit and face steak. Not to mention some strange aftertaste you couldn’t quite figure out.

With a toss of the bedding, you carefully sent your legs over the edge. You tested the waters by carefully tapping your foot on the floor, before wiggling your legs and doing some exercises while you were safely seated. Recognizing that you felt completely fine, you stood up to your feet and walked into the suite’s bathroom to take a bath and… somehow brush your teeth. If anything, at least give your mouth a _really_ good rinse and spit.

Unlike the first time you took a bath here, your mind wasn’t lead astray by dirty thoughts or anything that would waste time. Today you seemed really determined to get the show on the road, which was good considering you wasted enough time at the run-down resort.

At most, you would rate the place around 3 out of 5 stars.

After your bath with subpar/no soaps, you dried off and dressed yourself back up. The clothes were still dirty, but at this point there was nothing you could do about it. Unless you wanted to try and backtrack to Alphys’ to grab a new pair, you honestly couldn’t bother with it. For all you knew, Frisk was already at the exit waiting for you to give them a sign that you’re alive.

You grabbed your backpack, instinctively checking for goodies. But of course nothing was there, Flowey was probably still freaked out over what happened. Even you were freaked out over what happened, but you didn’t know much about it. There were a lot of things you were still trying to figure out on your own, and two confused brains put together didn’t equal answers… all it equaled was one ginormous confused brain. Larger, but still confused.

You lugged your bag over your shoulder with a light huff, before stepping outside of the room and closing the door behind you. It wasn’t until you reached the lobby that you finally found Flowey; Sitting right at the edge of the gross water fountain centerpiece.

His back faced you, and his head was lowered as if gazing into the mucky waters of the fountain. You didn’t want to startle him, so you strafed a bit to the side before walking in his direction, so that at least from the corner of his eye he could see you approaching. And with that help, he did. When you were halfway to him he had lifted his head and looked towards you. You gave him a nervous smile, but he didn’t return the favor.

“Ready?” Flowey asked, but he sprouted tiny roots out of his flower pot anyway and proceeded to pick himself up and drop himself down onto the floor.

“Yeah.” You nodded, and as he began to carry himself towards the door that had used to give you a strange sense of dread, you dared to push out your thoughts “Hey, are you alright Flowey?”

And he dared to not give you even a small response, he simply reached the doorway with the flashy neon sign above it and gave it a rough push. You opened your mouth to try and ask again, but his immediate response was to roughly mutter _“Let’s just get going.”_ As he continued to carry himself through the doors and to the other side.

When you push through to the other side as well, you’re instantly awestruck at the bright light radiating at the far end of what appeared to be a long bridge. The warmth of the somewhat ‘outdoor back patio’ themed area stretched off to the center of the wood-like bridge, until it would break into cool colors from the entrance to, obviously the Core. The Core shimmered with a blue glow, and the neon-cyan veins that seemed to clutter the outside of the grand building were almost overwhelming the scenery like a rave club. And at the end of said bridge was a doorway filled with a bright blue light, masking whatever may lie ahead.

As you followed Flowey across the bridge and started to leave the MTT resort behind, you noticed that below there was practically nothingness. Every so often, red pulses of shapes and wires would emit faintly, to at least let you know something was down there, but besides that it looked like an endless abyss of darkness… almost like a void.

And as if reading your mind, Flowey scoffed “That’s the void, don’t fall in.”

Dumbly, you asked “What happens if you fall in?”

He sighed heavily in response as the two of you reached the end of the bridge. There was a bright red light just above the doorway, almost like a giant power button to notify you that the power was most definitely still on. It was amazing that the Core harnessed enough power to power up the entire Underground, though from the True Lab you figured there must have been stations in certain areas that would help distribute the power more evenly. There wasn’t much power in Snowdin, so maybe the stations were located deeper in the forgotten cities.

The only reason the Mettaton Resort was still powered was due to it being directly plugged into the Core. At least, that’s what you figured.

You realized you had been staring up at the red beacon above the doorway after having asked your dumb question. He had yet to answer you though, so you finally blinked away from the light and down at him, in which he did the same. He had been looking at the light for awhile as well, which after he realized you were finally returning your attention to him, he looked back at you with furrowed brows “What do you _think_ happens if you fall down into a bottomless pit?”

Well, you had to admit that was a dumb question.

You let out a nervous laugh, but he didn’t seem amused even a bit as he waddled himself through the brightly lit doorway. With a small frown you followed, having to squint your eyes just to try and adjust them to the brightly lit room that you had entered.

The Core.

As amazing as this place was, there are plenty of reasons to avoid it. You could feel the light almost push through your entire being, it was somewhat surreal as you shuddered.

And when your eyes finally adjusted, Flowey was in front of an elevator that resided at the center between two dark doorways. Both doorways had red panels over them that contained pictures of, what you figured to be, wires in a certain arrangement… maybe they implied what type of wires were in whichever type of room? Over the elevator was a panel with green code, but the code seemed to have been jumbled up. The monitor blinked on and off, though whether that was how it had been designed or if it were just broken you couldn’t tell. Either way, the coding on screen didn’t make much sense to you, so it didn’t keep your attention for long.

The entire room was covered in a bright blue metal that matched the lighting and the overall technological theme. Along the metal flooring ran circuitry that went in practically all directions, however still in a surprisingly neat formation as if a team of professionals made this place. But then again that would only make sense that people who knew what they were doing would build a gigantic place of power such as this.

 _“Dammit.”_ Flowey grunted, his eyes fixated on the screen of code that flickered on and off above the elevator “We’ll have to take the long way.”

So he knew how to read code too? Damn, what _couldn’t_ he do?

“The _scenic_ route.” You tried, realizing at this point you were probably reaching really far just to try and get some sort of smile out of Flowey. But of course it didn’t work again, since all he did was roll his eyes and mutter “ _This way._ ” As he maneuvered his pot around you just to get through the doorway to your left. You were honestly trying so hard to make things better between you two, in fact he should be _honored_ that you of all people would even try to stick around with him… considering he tried to officially fuck you over _twice_ now since you’ve been Underground. And after both times you were dumb enough to bother holding onto your feelings for the potted _weed_.

You followed him into another large blue room, this time it resembled a grand hallway complete with three gigantic pillars on each side. The pillars themselves looked more like thick computer antennae, with red spheres blinking on and off at the tops of them. The hall was large with plenty of space, and the more space you realized was in the room, the more you also realized was between you and Flowey. The moment you two entered the room he was practically rushing to get to the end and go through the doorway.

“Flowey, talk to me.” You sighed, not bothering to run and catch up with him. You figured he wouldn’t stop for you, let alone would he slow down if he noticed you on his heel. Which you were right, he paid you no mind as he went through the dark doorway at the end of the big hall. And it took you awhile to actually reach the end since you figured you wouldn’t bother running for it like he did.

When you stepped through, you were in a small corner hallway. Decorated just like the rest of the place you figured, but you were still alone. Flowey had gone ahead, and you could see him as you turned the corner and spotted a dangerously thin multi-wired bridge that lead to a more stable footing on the other side. As you witnessed earlier, you saw that beneath the bridge was complete nothingness, other than the solid metal and wiring that seemed to have built the bridge up. Flowey simply sat at the center of the bridge between the rather rickety railings. Even the railings looked like they had been stapled in last minute.

“Flowey, if you’re worried… I meant what I said.” You tried to reassure him, reaching the start of the bridge, but keeping yourself from actually walking on it. The bridge itself looked sturdy, however it was still thin, and the railing wobbled when you reached out to touch it.

“Which part?” He asked with a snort. You gave him a confused look from across the way, and you figured he felt it at the back of his head since he turned around to finally face you “Which words did you exactly _mean_ considering your words were all over the place.”

“The promise of not leaving without you, idiot.” You glared then, shaking your head in disbelief at his attitude. You took a few careful steps on the bridge, holding the railing even though it was unreliable. Thankfully Flowey didn’t walk farther away or try to avoid you this time, he simply stayed in place as he pushed on “How am I supposed to believe that crack of bull if you can threaten to kill me in the blink of an eye?”

“The same way I always believe in _you_ when you’ve killed me once and almost killed me _again!_ ” You growled “Flowey you’re more _‘all over the place’_ than I’ve been, so cut the _precious flower_ act right now, I’ve had enough of it!”

You finally reached the center of the bridge, looking directly down at him who glared right back up at you. And the two of you locked gazes of irritation and annoyance.

What didn’t he understand about the odds being against him? He was in the wrong, not you. If you weren’t such a _stupid-idiot_ who wound up being a _closeted hopeless romantic_ you would’ve ditched his ass long ago! He should appreciate that you’re even bothering with him right now. But neither of you budged, and though the intense gaze is long and almost unbreakable, he eventually gives in with a tiny huff and turn. He waddled across the bridge, and you carefully followed behind.

And not much could be said, you figured after that you might as well let him mull over everything as you did your own thing as well. You simply assumed that the only reason he was crabby was most likely due to the whole ‘getting closer to the end game’ thing. He was worried about you leaving, and whether you would really keep your word or not, probably.

 

And unfortunately, you still were.

 

Intent on him leaving with you, that is.

When you two left the bridge area and started walking, at least he didn’t mind terribly to walk beside you this time. Not that it mattered, you both gave each other the silent treatment as you continued your journey through the Core. The background noise at least filled the silence, since the environment was full of tiny computer sounds and live circuitry. Honestly, everything in the place looked well past the technology of today… it’s as if the Monsters invented smart phones long before touch screens were even imagined by humans. You would have been wow’d by everything around you, if maybe you had a flower to explain it all with his surprisingly intelligent brain. But you didn’t, Flowey shunned you and you honestly shunned him back. Moreso to give him the space and break that he might’ve needed, since you wanted to chat with him more than anything.

You’re unfortunately a _very_ forgiving person.

The Core seemed to be full of long hallways of metal, wire, and data noises. And every so often a frightening bridge to cross. There were times when you wanted to question if Flowey was accidentally leading you two in circles, but then you would see a brand new room and push the worry in the back of your mind. As you two walked in silence you took the time to try and figure out some things. One of those things being what had happened to you yesterday.

What came over you exactly? You wondered if it was just your defensive instinct. Maybe as much as your heart and soul wanted to believe you were safe with Flowey, your brain was telling you otherwise. Maybe the fact that you were passing out wasn’t entirely blood loss, but your mind telling you to take a break while something else took control. But that wasn’t even your voice… it wasn’t even _you_ … right?

You were so confused, and worried. Not that you needed to be, since everything would be fine.

But you knew why Flowey was freaked out. Because truthfully, you felt a bit freaked out too. The feeling was unfortunate, but there was no way to make you feel any better about it unless it was discussed and you managed to come to some sort of conclusion or understanding.

_Whoever that ‘other you’ was,_ as you called me… _they were really intent on getting rid of Flowey,_ you thought.

 

 _But,_ you defended _, it made sense considering Flowey had put you in a rather tight spot._

By the time your mind returned to reality, you were still walking in a straight line down a straight room, bee-lining towards a doorway full of a strange white light. That was more peculiar, since the other doorways had either emitted blue light or the absence of light. You could tell that there was a bridge through the door too because the sudden change from blue metal flooring to purple was surprising after having seen nothing but blue this entire time. You figured it was best to get things off your chest… so you gave Flowey a side glance as he hopped along in his flower pot, before speaking up “Tell me completely what’s bugging you.”

“No.” Flowey was quick to reply and keep moving.

You pestered him “Flowey, honestly if we’re making it to the end together we might as well not give each other some silent treatment crap.” You rolled your eyes “This isn’t high school.”

“I wouldn’t know, now would I?” He sneered “I never went to high school.”

“Well you sure as hell act like a teenager.” You snickered “I wonder what a flower covered in acne looks like.”

Flowey ignored the remark and returned to silently hopping along. You gave a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of your neck as you tried to figure out what else to say next. Thankfully the Core was really cool, not in a chilly Snowdin type of way, but it was rather comfortable compared to the drastic changes in weather you’ve experienced underground. Most computer labs in general needed advanced cooling for the sake of the computers not overheating, so it was safe to assume this was the case for the Core as well.

“Please, just talk to me… I hate this, Flowey.” You bit your bottom lip as you reached out and down, lightly tapping a finger on the back of his head. He stopped and turned quickly at the touch, and you stopped in your tracks as well as you gave him a small smile “Talk to me, okay? We’ve always figured shit out…”

 _“Tch.”_ He grunted, and you assumed that your plea hadn’t worked since he turned his head and looked as if he were ready to bolt like earlier. And yet he stopped, taking in a deep breath he shook his head lightly and blinked “It’s… dumb. I’m starting to hate the words that come out of my mouth, but I know too much at this rate and it can’t be helped…”

“What do you mean?” You weren’t sure if it helped or anything, but you figured kneeling down before him would give him a hint that he had your undivided attention. But a part of you figured it was the same as if you crouched down to talk to short people face to face. Was it insulting? Was it kind? Who knew but the short person.

“I guess I figured… you know…” Flowey almost sounded nervous to admit what he was about to say, as if he figured it did sound dumb “Of all the times for you to _snap_ why did it have to be… now? Why not back then when… that other shit happened…” He swallowed, his gaze wandering in every direction but yours “I might be biased, but… the things that happened in Alphys’ lab felt more serious than what happened at the resort—“

Easy for him to fucking say all things considered.

“I guess I was stuck on the idea that it was just plain… _main character convenience_ . And I know the more I talk about it the more you’re confused because you’re really _dumb_ sometimes but… why now? Why not then?”

Even though he was sort of right, that you didn’t quite understand it and you did have trouble understanding most weird things he would talk about, you knew that you two had to talk it out. It was for the best, because the last thing you wanted was for the two of you to get off on some weird footing that would make it impossible to move on from. You adjusted yourself to a more comfortable seated position on the floor, and Flowey finally managed to grant you a tiny smirk from his lips “It was almost… relatable. Almost, anyway.”

You tilted your head, and his smile faded “Like me… whenever I just have this… overwhelming sense to, well, _keep you_ let's say… I feel like I’m someone else, even if it’s for a moment. Even if it really _is_ me.”

D̸̵̶i̵̸̵d̴̴̸ ̸̷̶h̴̸̴e̶̴̷ ̶̷̴j̷̷̶u̷̴̶s̴̸̸t̸̵̷ ̷̶̶ _c̶̶̵o̶̷̶m̶̶̶p̵̶̷a̶̴̶r̷̸̴e̷̵̶_ ̷̷̵u̶̶̸s̶̵̴?̵̵̶!

Your body stiffened then, suddenly you seemed rather uncomfortable as you shifted a bit more and found your eyes looking away from him. You carefully stood up to your feet instead, realizing sitting and talking wasn’t exactly the plan anymore. You were confused with these motions, but you had to go with them anyway, because I was angry. “Let’s keep moving, we can talk and walk at the same time.”

Not really caring about your shift in attitude, he shrugged and obliged, turning and beginning to walk with you as you both finally made it to the end of the terribly long hallway. The doorway that leaked light now revealed where it came from; The bridge before you stretched out to the other side, but beneath it was never ending light—as if opposite of the darkness from before—though it all lead to the same place; which was down, a direction you didn’t want to find yourself aiming towards. The purple-metal bridge was a lot wider and bigger than the previous bridges you’ve crossed, but the railings were still the same… not sturdy and not safe to rely on for protection.

You needed to get this off your chest, even though a little voice in the back of your head was _seriously_ telling you there was no point talking this crap over with a sociopath. But you didn’t want to seem weird to him, let alone like some generic main character trope filler due to some ‘out of body experience’ you had. Though, so you know, it was more like a _‘locked away in the back of your head watching through your eyes as someone else took over’_ experience rather than anything else.

“That moment when you’re overwhelmed and you let go…” Flowey continued then, hopping along the stupidly long bridge “That feeling of losing control… maybe I could relate because I felt it plenty. And I know what it’s like to be the hero of a story.” He sighed “I know what it’s like to be the villain, too.”

You gritted your teeth, unsure about what to say. Now you were torn, because I was pushing out.

“That feeling when you think you’re someone else who's far more powerful and determined…” Flowey stopped in his tracks then, just to turn and look up at you “That feeling when—“ He paused, it must have been something on your face because his own contorted to almost that of being disturbed “What’s wrong with your face?”

What can I say? I’m over-protective.

You felt a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, a pressure that pushed forward and through in an attempt to escape. That feeling of hatred, that anger… that pissy feeling of wanting to toss Flowey into the fucking void-- that was me.

Warn him as you like, you managed a faint _“Run away…”_ before I appeared.

“You okay?” Flowey stood there and asked instead, his face still giving a confused look as I composed myself. When I felt more fully in control then, I prepared myself to lunge “I’m NOTHING like you _…!_ ”

Before Flowey could say anything else demeaning, I leaped forward, causing him to quickly dart a bit to the left. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to topple him down into the void. He managed to keep his balance before yelling out “What the **hell’s** your problem?!”

“What I do is NOT due to some stupid _need_ for POWER!” I curled your fingers into fists “It’s so I can protect **THEM** from **YOU!** You’re a piece of shit, Flowey!”

Flowey’s eyes were wide, he looked left and right as if he were preparing to cross the street before he wobbled back a bit on the bridge “What are you talking about?! What’s gotten into you--”

 

“Don’t _compare_ me to you!” I leaped forward again with a huff, only this time when he dodged I smacked right into the rickety railing. Just as your mind fought for control, the moment you resurfaced the railing had collapsed, in no way keeping you from falling anymore. In the blink of an eye you lost your balance and fell off the bridge.

A vine had quickly whipped to wrap around your wrist, however it wasn’t a firm enough grip to keep you from falling down. You slipped right through Flowey’s attempt and plummeted, not even bothering to allow yourself time to scream. Your first instinct was to grab for the wall of wires that built up the bridge, and you reached out and yanked.

The whiplash made your head toss back, but you held on with all your might so you wouldn’t fall any farther than you wanted to. Your neck craned a bit, you felt your nails snag against metal, and though a few wires snapped from your hold, the bundles that didn’t saved you from a horrific drop deeper into what had been deemed as the void. You were surrounded by blinding light, and though it was blurry above you, you could still see how far up the bridge was compared to how deep you managed to fall. And below you, as much as you hesitated to look, was nothing more than a white mist of emptiness. And honestly, it was a bit more comforting than a mist of darkness—but still not something you wanted to think about.

You weren’t sure what to say, you were gasping for air from complete shock over your body having been taken over, let alone you taking it back at the worst time. You looked up, trying your best to see if you could spot Flowey, but you could barely see anything from how far down you were. You grunted as you tried to secure your feet into the wall of circuits, finding some footing for your right foot but your left remained struggling. You did your best to climb up, even a little bit, but when your foot snapped some cords and you were once more left hanging by your arms, you voted against the climb.

“ **FLOWEY?!** ” You called out, gasping as your arms already started to feel the burn of holding your weight. How many times throughout this tale had you mentioned you weren’t the most athletic of people? Endurance was a good trait to have, but that can’t be all you have in order to actually be considered ‘fit and active’.

You even heard your own voice echo below you, yeah, you were that far down.

You didn’t hear Flowey reply, and there was a moment of dread that came over you like waves. Did Flowey fall over too? Was he alright? You tried to lift yourself again on your own, but this time you weren’t so lucky, and instead found yourself simply wiggling in place. This wasn’t like any of the adventure movies you’ve watched, you couldn’t find a vine out of wires to swing yourself back up to the surface. You couldn’t casually make your way up to save yourself, either. You had no sidekick to save you, you were completely alone.

“ **F-Flowey…?!** ” You tried to call out again, a bit weaker, but still clear enough to hopefully have him hear you. And a few more seconds passed that made you wonder if… maybe…

“What the **FUCK’S** the matter with you?!”

You lifted your head up and squinted your eyes, spotting a fuzzy yellow shape far up above. With a wide smile, you almost felt that you could cry—but you tried your very best not to. Instead you called back “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Are you serious?!” Flowey yelled back down, and you saw the yellow blur move a bit back and forth, but other than that you couldn’t tell what he was doing “ _You_ did this! You were trying to attack me!”

“I can’t explain that!” You knew you had to figure it out yourself, but now wasn’t exactly the best time to do so “Flowey, I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately! But please, can’t we talk about this later?! Help me up!”

And after that bit of breath escaped you, you sighed out, feeling the weight in your arms. Almost as if something were pulling you from below, it felt like someone were hanging onto your legs and trying to get you to fall. You couldn’t tell what that feeling was, but it wasn’t a good feeling. It was something rather scary and intense, and though the thought washed over you about coming back from the dead—you also had a feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as before when it came to falling into the void. There was something powerful in its depths that made you second guess yourself. You felt like you were struggling to breathe, and you felt a strange whisper in your ear about giving in. About succumbing to the endless void… about giving someone your soul.

 

_**Ģ̵̴̵̸̸̶̶̶̶̵̷̡̩͓̭͚̩̗͇̹̗͗̂̊́̍̑̉͂̅̈́͘͜͜͜͠Ì̴̴̶̸̵̶̵̸̴̸̶̢̧̢̱͕̮͚͇̘̳͔͓̙͕͒͌͑̒̀̒̽̍̽̎͗͘V̴̴̷̶̴̶̸̵̴̸̸̢̙̻͍͚̲̖͉̤̤͍̳̫̻͒́͂͌͂̎̌̃͘͘͠͠͝Ẹ̸̴̷̷̴̵̸̷̶̵̸̜͈͕̖̖̥͔̯̤̟̲̜̊̑͂́̒̇̄̐͛̊̎̏͜͝͝ ̴̵̷̷̴̸̴̸̷̷̷̧͖̩̹͇̠͇̱̝͍͈̱̤͍͌͂̒̏͂̆͑͌͛̀͂͘͝M̶̴̷̵̵̴̷̶̵̸̷̢̛̙̞̭̟̻̘̦̞̲̭̻̲͙̾͌͂̊̈́̿͒̽̈́͘͠͝E̷̷̷̶̷̵̷̶̶̷̸̢̖͚̩̙̭̠̬̲̼̼͖͖̺̓̏̓͊͒̉̋͊̈̀̐̽̕͝ ̷̶̸̸̷̴̸̷̶̴̷̢̧̜̖͖̩̟͈̰̣͎͖͔̪͒̽͗̂̄̆̉͋̀̂̄̅̕Y̶̴̷̶̴̷̶̷̶̸̴̡͚̟̞͖̩̜̜͇̲͕̖̣̹̑̋̅͂͌͒͒̈́̄̔̇̑̚̚O̷̴̸̷̴̸̸̴̷̸̸̗̖̹̹͉̘̥̫̣̥͈̭̲͌̉͌͐̀̃́̈́͂̀͊̒̚͜Ų̶̸̸̴̷̶̷̴̴̵̵̧͎̹̰̭̘̬̞͚͈̤͈̳̏̊̄̇͐͆̈́̒̾̂͒̚͝R̷̷̸̸̵̸̵̵̷̷̷̢̢̢̩̗̠͙̳͎̞͉̳͉̺̆́͊́͂͂̄͛̈̋͗̈́̂̾ ̷̵̴̸̵̷̸̵̴̶̷̢̛̟̜̯̼͚̖̩̬̹̥͎̗̾̿̔̈͗̽͒̋̒̑͘ͅS̵̷̶̶̴̸̶̶̵̵̵̛͙̣̗͕̳͔̗̞̮̩̥̰͎̽͐̿̈́̌̆̍̈́͊̇͒̒̾ͅO̵̷̴̷̶̴̵̴̷̴̴̧̝̗̪̝͖̦̠͇̩͙͍̬̘͂̈̈́̆̌̇̍̈̓̉̑͘͠Ǔ̸̵̶̶̴̴̵̷̶̶̶̡̧̘̮̝̝̯̝̞̭̪͍͎̉̔̓͂́̆͂̈́͛̔̏̏͜Ļ̶̴̶̵̵̷̷̵̷̵̷̮͔̭̘͈͇̟̪̣̟͓͔͛̉̀͗̽͂̎̈́͌̽̾͂̃̚͜** _

 

And after not hearing Flowey for a long while, you panicked even more.  _ What was going to happen? _

__

“Why should I?” You could’ve sworn you heard Flowey respond.

You blinked up towards the yellow blur, now hoping it wasn’t just a hallucination “What do you mean?!”

“Why should I help you up if you tried to kill me!” Flowey demanded, a small cackle could be heard, before he finished “You said you wanted to talk it out but instead you tried to push me off the fucking bridge!”

 

_**Į̶̶̵̷̴̷̵̸̵̸̵̵̸̶̵̵̵̷̶̷̵͕̘̰̯̹̹̙̺̪̰̻͓͇͓̲̗̝̳̬̏̎̎̆̿̽̓́̀͛̈́̏̓́̈̎̕̚͜͠ ̶̵̸̷̴̷̵̴̵̵̸̵̴̸̶̷̵̵̶̶̵̧̧͍̩͎̰̺͍̫̜̘̳̟̩͉͖̟͔͈̼͂͛͛̈́̌̓͗̊̐̃̑͋̈́̈́͋̕͘̚͜͝͝W̵̶̴̴̷̷̵̴̸̶̸̴̸̸̷̴̸̴̶̷̸̰̺̦̠̭͎͕̬̳̱̮̫̳͖̣͉̠̪̤̠̱̽̾̉̑͛̅́͋̇̇̌͊̉̒̈́̇̚͝͝A̷̷̴̴̶̷̸̶̵̶̴̷̸̷̴̴̷̵̷̵̶̢̛̙̳͇̱͇̲̳͇̬͔̤̗̙̯̭͈̦̟͆͌̃͆͊̅̇̌̇̆̆̋̿̍̄͒̚͘͘͝ͅͅŅ̵̷̴̷̶̵̴̷̷̵̴̷̵̵̵̶̵̸̸̵̵͖̻̗͙͍̥̥̪̟͈̙̗̼͖̼͖̣̮̞̉̆̃͛͑͌͑̇͗̊͐̽̈́͒͌̀̑̈́̈́͊̿ͅT̴̷̷̴̸̵̵̷̶̴̵̴̸̸̶̷̴̸̷̶̷̜̻͖̹̣̞̖̙͎̘̯̲͕̺͓̺̹͍̖͓̉̽̔̒̽́̏̿̍͑̓̿̾̓̀͑̕̚̕͜͝͝ ̶̶̴̸̸̸̴̸̷̷̷̵̵̶̴̶̵̷̵̶̴͔͙̰͙͈̘͉̦͉͇͎͔̱̻͎͕͉̦̜̞̠̌̅̅̆̈́͋͗̍̾͌̈̄͛͒̍͛̔͘͝͝T̵̵̸̵̶̴̷̷̴̷̸̵̴̶̴̶̶̶̵̸̵̡̡͈̗̟͇͔̗̫̣͕͎͎̖͓͇̳̣̲̻̼̆͗͑͒̓͋̄͛̽̆̑͂̋̎̅̈́̚Ǫ̷̷̶̵̴̵̸̷̶̴̸̶̸̸̷̵̶̶̶̴̸̡̢̢̘̙͕͈̟͙͍̙̗̭̞̟͙̩̜̹͔̓̋͋͑̔͊́͋̔̇̏͑̿͊̕͘̕͠͝ ̶̷̵̵̷̴̶̸̷̴̶̵̸̸̴̴̵̵̷̸̴̢̢̙̫̣͇̭͈̥̩͖̞̱͈̦͙̫̟̝͇̼̌̈́̽̋̉̇̃̒̿̓̇͋̈́͑̄͂͘̚̚͝͝L̶̸̷̴̴̷̵̷̵̴̷̸̶̶̷̴̷̴̴̵̶̡̡̛̤͕̦̫̝̝̦̠̼̼͚̟̤͇̮̜̦͉͛̿̍̍̀̽̓̍̋̈́̒͂̑̎͋̊͘̚͝͝ͅĮ̸̴̴̴̶̴̴̷̴̶̷̴̴̷̴̵̶̷̶̸̸̘̙͎͓̗̼̱̝̹̗͚͕̥̠̜͇̤͎̗̳̈́̿̏͛̿̎͂̈̅̃̌̂̋̉̅͂̐̕̕̚V̴̴̷̶̸̶̵̴̷̷̸̸̵̴̶̴̴̴̵̷̸̟̦̯̻̥̻̰͚̲̯͈̯̥͎͕͚͍̱̮͐̎̎̿̌̏́̐̋̓̍̀̐̐̎̎̿̂͘͜͜͝Ȩ̵̸̷̴̵̷̶̸̴̸̸̸̵̸̵̴̴̸̶̸̶̧̦̻̹̦̺̘̺̻͙̰̟̰̫̜͍̰͒̒̅̑̉̿͗́̃́͐͋̌̇̆̾́͗̕̕͜ͅͅ ̵̴̸̷̸̵̶̴̵̸̸̶̸̶̶̶̵̴̴̷̸̢̫̦̱̹͉̗̜͈͖̰̯̯̬̼̜̜͇͙̼̰͒̔̈́̓̈́̇̃͛́͌͋͆͋́̂̿̑̕͝͝Ḁ̶̴̶̷̴̸̵̷̶̴̸̶̸̵̸̷̸̵̷̶̸̢̧̡̢̬̩͇̞̤͇̯͚̱͇̘͍̯̙̑̋́̄̿̃̇̏̋̊̃̓̽͂̔̑̈͘̕͘͜͝ͅĢ̷̴̴̵̸̸̴̷̷̵̷̶̸̵̸̴̵̶̶̴̴͈̭͓͍͓̠̣̦͇̫̙̝͙̬̝͙̲̰̘̫̃̌̋͗̓̈́̄̽͛͒̄̂̄͗̓̃̽͗̕͘A̸̸̸̸̶̸̸̸̵̷̴̷̶̵̶̴̴̵̴̶̵̢̛̝͈̟͖̖͖̣̗͓̦̹̮̘͎̠̘̪̘̻̓̐̒͋͑̄̏̃͛́̉̋̌̿̓͋̚͝ͅI̶̶̶̴̴̴̴̶̴̷̷̵̵̵̴̶̸̷̷̴̴̹̙͙̞̭̪̣̥̣̣̘͙͎̯̣̪̟̜̟̘̬̋͋̓͑̃̉̋̍̃̔͒̈́̄̈́̈́̅̂́̐͝N̵̶̸̴̶̴̵̵̵̸̵̸̶̶̷̵̸̴̸̵̶̨̢̢̨̯̙͈̻̙̼̯̬̻͔̘̲̟͍̱̲̄͐̓̉̾̾͛̓͑̓̾̊̑̐̋̔̉̿̆̚͜͠** _

 

_ D̵̴̴̸̸̶̴o̷̷̵̵̵̵̷n̷̶̴̴̸̷̸’̵̴̸̸̷̷̸t̴̸̵̶̶̸̷ ̵̸̴̶̸̷̷l̵̶̸̴̶̵̴i̷̸̷̵̵̶̸s̵̵̶̸̴̵̵t̷̶̷̴̷̴̷e̴̴̶̶̴̶̶n̶̷̵̶̸̴̴ ̶̷̵̴̴̴̷t̷̵̸̶̵̴̴o̵̷̸̸̵̶̷ ̷̶̶̵̶̵̵h̵̵̴̵̴̴̴i̷̸̴̸̷̶̶m̷̴̷̶̷̴̸.̴̶̶̴̴̶̵ _

“That wasn’t me!” You pleaded, feeling your hands already start to get sweaty from the tight grip. You grunted as you shifted your weight, not that it did much, but it helped a little bit “Flowey I wish I could explain it to you-- but it wasn’t me! You know, we were just talking about that-- that feeling when someone takes control?!”

You watched Flowey’s blurred image far above move around somewhat, and you almost saw him vanish out of sight completely. You shuddered, your arms getting sore from hanging on, and you could swear that something was pulling you down. The reality that the wires couldn’t support you for long, the thought that maybe the gravity was heavier the farther down you went… You wanted Flowey to trust you but at the same time you had every reason not to trust him either…

He didn’t even bother with a response to that, you watched the blurry yellow colors move around some but other than that Flowey didn’t say a word.

 

_**Ĺ̴̸̶̴̴̨̡̫͈͚͖͕̦͒͐͒̾̒̿͜͠E̷̵̴̴̶̥̭̺̫͍͔̭͇̝̓͑͑̈̃͂̑̌̕T̴̵̵̵̵̪͇̪̪͎̝̘͓̫̅̓͑͗̉̊͒͘͠ ̸̶̷̸̴̛̥̞͓̖̫̫̼̗͂̓́̅̍͑͗̌͜M̴̴̶̸̸̧̹̯̯̭̺̦͉̦̊̃̀̏̇̌̒̕̚Ê̶̶̵̷̵̢̧͚̼͎̼̰̜̞͑̾͂̓̾̕ ̴̴̴̸̵̛̲̠͇̯̝̝̮̾͗̐͆̇̇͘͜͜͠S̶̵̸̴̶̢͔̳͕̗̠̼̜͚̽̏͑̈́̇́̌̚̕E̶̸̴̴̴̡̝̥͇̯̙̯͎͊̅͂̐͆̐̒͘͜E̵̸̶̷̵̢̟̳͈͚̻͉͚͓̋̏̔̈́͋̒͘͝ ̴̷̸̷̴̨̤̹͕̯̫͚̄̓͊̂͋̿͘͠͝ͅͅM̵̸̷̸̶͕͚̰̝̭̜͖̪̊̽̒̉̐͗́̃̕ͅȲ̷̵̵̸̷̧̡̧̗̝̩̭͚̗̏̈́͒͛͑̈̕͠ ̶̷̸̴̸̡͖̖͍̩̺̮̠̩̋̔̈́͂̇͝S̷̴̶̵̴̛̰͚̤̭̱̤̺͖̗̓̅͛͒̂̂̽̑Ơ̸̶̸̶̷̭̳͙̥̼̲̙̬̇̊̌̇̊̿̽̓͜N̸̴̴̶̸̪̪͉̜͙̪̺̼̐̉̔͑̌̍͂̊͝ͅS̸̷̷̴̸̢͓̗̖̻͇̤̗͂̿̓̓̅̽̌͘͜͠** _

 

“Do you hate me?!” You asked then.

__

That was it. You gave up. Your eyes filled with tears, undeserving tears for a flower who didn’t care enough. You crying was the worst… and there was nothing I could do to help.

__

“Please, just  **TELL** me if you hate me because… honestly I’ve…” You gasped a little and sniffed, not even being able to wipe your eyes out of fear the moment you let go would be the moment you fell “Everything I’ve ever done up to this point was to try and get you free and yet… all you ever do is harass and hurt me! What have I done to deserve this?!  **WHAT HAVE I DONE, FLOWEY?!** ”

__

_ Silence. _

_ Nothing but silence is earned. _

_ Answer me, _ you demand in your head. Your grip tightening on the wires as you feel yourself being yanked. Every time you blinked you could see a desperate creature looking back at you, hungrily waiting, almost taunting you for your one-sided feelings. Maybe you did deserve this? All of it, for caring for someone that could give less than two shits for you…

_ I’d give you everything, _ you thought,  _ and you’ll give me nothing… _

But maybe that’s what love was. Giving and never expecting a dime back.

__

…

__

What did you mean by  _ ‘I’d give you everything?’ _

__

“ **I’m sorry…!** ”

__

You lifted your head back up, ignoring the distant apology as you decided you couldn’t give up just yet. You pulled up as much weight as you could before stretching your arm out carefully to grasp at a hanging wire, and when you gave it a firm hold, you also cautiously tugged it to see if it could actually support your weight. It budged slightly, however the fact that it didn’t tear off and force you to hang on with one hand meant it was good enough. You continued to climb, until you climbed enough where the bundles of circuit wires that you once held onto before were now supporting your feet. Flowey was still so far away, but he was more visible than before.

“I know you’re right,  _ of course _ I know! But I don’t get what you see in me that-- I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make whenever you keep risking your life just to get me out of here!” Flowey peered down at you, and you could see that he was trying to focus on you, but it was probably hard since you’re surrounded by a white light “ **You’re an idiot!** You had every chance to leave me behind but you’re so goddamn  **DETERMINED** to help that you put yourself in fucking danger! I don’t know what’s gotten into you-- but…”

__

_     S̷̷̵a̵̴̸v̸̶̷e̸̵̵ ̴̶̸t̴̴̵h̸̸̸e̴̶̵m̸̶̴.̵̵̴ _

_  ̴̴̴                E̵̵̸v̸̸̷e̴̴̴n̷̸̸ ̴̶̶i̶̸̴f̸̶̸ ̶̸̶y̶̸̸o̸̷̵u̷̷̸ ̵̵̴h̶̵̵a̸̶̸t̷̸̸e̸̶̷ ̶̴̶m̶̷̴e̵̶̴,̸̸̵ ̷̶̷s̴̵̷a̷̶̶v̸̷̸e̸̶̶ ̵̴̴T̷̸̸H̴̸̸E̵̵̴M̷̷̶.̴̶̴ _

__

“I’ll try.” Flowey breathed out, his words barely audible but with your strained hearing you couldn’t help but smile as he called down “ **I’LL TRY! JUST HANG ON!** ”

“It’s the only thing I  _ CAN _ do, Flowey!” You snorted, blinking away tears from that emotional moment. 

You couldn’t climb just using your arms anymore, and you felt your fingers already wanting to give up and let go. That strange pull you felt from below never left either, you felt it tug on your legs still, and now you could see with your own eyes that you were getting heavier. You blinked more tears away again as you stared up towards your hands that started to pull more on the wire. You began to tremble. The fear became far too real, and even though Flowey would try to pull you up, there was that dread again… like before. The sense that maybe this time things wouldn’t be the same as usual.

__

Maybe this was the end of your story.

__

You saw Flowey again, this time slowly lowering one of his vines. He was grunting, rather loudly, as you watched the plants tendril get closer and closer to you. You could’ve sworn he was able to grow farther than that, but by the time he stopped, Flowey flinched and so did you.

__

He…  _ he can’t reach you.  _

__

As much as he wiggled his vine and tried to get it lower, it wasn’t moving any farther down like you truly wanted. Your relief had lasted for less than a few seconds, and once again you were mentally spiraling into doubt.

__

You would have to climb for your life.

__

“F-Flowey… I can’t reach…” You sighed out shakily as you tried to find a way to climb up, but at this point your arms and body were completely worn out from holding on. It was too risky to try and climb up on your own, but Flowey couldn’t stretch farther. You suggested “Can you climb down a bit?”

Flowey grunted again, trying to stretch more, but realizing himself that he couldn’t do it made him retract his vine instead. You watched him move a bit, but only to see him stare over the edge and down at you. His eyes had grown wide, and you could tell that was fear.

You hoped nothing was coming out of the void that might have caused him to react that way, but you were also too afraid to look down. Nothing was ‘bottomless’, so the possibility of falling for a  _ very long time _ before meeting a terrible end sent shivers down your spine. When Flowey hadn’t moved since bringing back his vine, you repeated “Flowey? I don’t know how long I can hang--”

Flowey breathed through gritted teeth, saying something you couldn’t really hear. You shook your head in confusion, before calling out “Flowey, I don’t have much time--!”

__

“I said  **I CAN’T HELP YOU!** ” Flowey shouted.

__

His words bounced off into the abyss, around you and below you. For a moment you even thought you were just imagining his words. Your mouth cracked into a smile at the thought of Flowey saying he couldn’t help-- and then the reminder that his words were real made your face drop like your legs.

“I-I can’t reach!” Flowey added to back up his words, but you shouted “Climb down a bit!”

__

“I’m not going down there!”

__

And the truth poured out of him like word vomit “It’s not that I hate you! This has nothing to do with… any of that! I know I’m a shitty asshole, and I know it can’t be helped! But... “ He stopped just to take a breath before continuing his defense “I don’t want to die…! Don’t you get it? You know what it’s like! You of all people know what it’s like to feel invincible! To be able to come back whenever you feel like it! Maybe you can’t reset, but you can come back!”

__

That’s not how it works. 

__

Flowey didn’t realize that the only reason you came back was because you had a body to come back to. If you were to fall into this endless void and slam down at the bottom of it, if you came back you would still be at the brink of death. He could heal you, but without him, you would wake up with broken bones and disorganized organs.

__

You would be in an endless loop of dying.

__

You swallowed “Flowey… why can’t you just try for me?”

__

“ **I DON’T WANT TO DIE!** ” Flowey was breathing heavily, he was trying very hard not to break down even if he admitted that he was already freaking out “I can’t come back like you can!”

__

_ The void is too strong. _

__

Whatever’s down there kept pulling and whispering in your ear. Gibberish, it sounded like. And when you blinked... the pale white face of a cracked skull blinked back behind your eyelids. Maybe it was a symbol, maybe it was yourself... a picture of your own face when you hit the bottom floor.

__

_           I̶̸̷ ̶̸̸w̷̸̴a̶̷̸s̴̴̴ ̷̶̸t̵̵̵e̸̴̶m̷̸̸p̷̵̸t̶̵̴e̴̷̵d̴̶̶ ̵̸̴o̵̷̶n̷̸̷c̴̸̷e̵̸̵.̸̷̶ _

__

You watch as Flowey backed away, shaking his head slowly. The fear for him was too real, but it was real for you too. The doubt, the  _ dread _ … and your whole life flashed before your very eyes.

Your teachers trying to explain to your parents that you were off in dreamland, always writing and talking about monsters. And they always doubted it. Your parents knew  _ ‘Oh, not MY child! My child knows better than to discuss make believe! Because monsters aren’t real!’ _

Meeting your best friend… a girl who loved to dance, who loved your imagination, who believed with you. All just to one day vanish and turn your life around for the worse, right?

__

But meeting Frisk. 

__

You meet a child who emerges after having been missing for months on end. Many children went missing, but Frisk came back. They came back and with a parade of monsters… a parade you weren’t allowed to watch for long.

And you got to talk with Frisk, hang out with them and their monster friends and family, and when you told your parents what you would major in, Frisk was with you every step of the way as your parents decided  _ ‘Then we no longer have a child’ _ .

And it was Frisk’s family who went to their’s and your graduation. They supported you your entire college life. And you decided you would work with Frisk… and you decided you would be an explorer… and you decided you would climb to the Underground… and you decided you would keep going no matter what… and you decided you would befriend Flowey… and you decided…

__

_ No, you never got to decide whether you wanted to love him. Because that’s not how love works. _

__

_ “Dammit.” _ Your eyes filled with tears, and you couldn’t help but choke on a sob as you hung your head. Tugging, you felt the tugging on your legs again and the voice shouted in the back of your head for something. What did it want with you? What did it  _ need? _

 

**_M̸̶̸̶̵̸̸̸̵̵̴̸̸̵̶̶̵̷̵̴̸̷̸̶̵̷̴̷̵̹̼̺̻͕̥̜̬͉͗̆͗̔̉̃̓̕Ÿ̶̴̸̶̷̸̶̵̵̴̵̵̵̶̵̶̴̴̴̵̷̷̷̸̵̶̵̵̶̧̖̖͓͔̼͖̰̓͐̑͒̏͂͝ͅ ̸̴̵̶̸̶̸̷̷̴̷̷̵̸̴̸̶̷̶̴̵̸̸̶̴̴̵̷̵̱̻̘̮̩̠̮̱͉͛͐͐̔͛͌̕͠S̵̷̶̸̵̶̸̴̵̶̴̸̷̵̶̸̶̶̶̸̷̷̵̵̷̸̸̵̴̨̛̜͍̲̮̬̠̺̝̋̈́̈́̓̂̎͛̈́Õ̶̶̸̷̴̶̵̶̵̷̶̷̸̸̶̴̸̶̸̵̵̴̴̵̸̸̴̷̵̠̦͉̪͕͖̙͓̹͊̐̓̇̈̾̽͠N̷̶̷̴̸̵̸̴̵̴̶̵̴̵̶̷̶̵̸̷̴̵̸̷̶̵̸̷̸̡̬͚͔̘̙͉̜̉̒̓̎̌̉̅̎͝ͅȘ̴̴̵̶̶̴̷̷̴̴̵̷̸̴̸̷̶̵̴̴̶̵̴̸̴̴̸̸̵̡̻͇͕̙̤̹̫̉͐̒̓̈́̄̄̀͠_ **

 

A burning sensation crawled up from below, from your toes and slowly up your calves. You could feel it tingle, and it was starting to feel intense. Your soul raced at the realization that these would be your last moments. With every ounce of strength, you let go with one arm so you could hang on the other, carefully trying to remove your bag off your back.

“ **FLOWEY!** ” You called out again, trying to hide the fact that you were crying. Not that it mattered of course, he wouldn’t do anything about it… and you’ll be dead in a few minutes. But you figured you would leave your things with him, and so you shouted “Catch my bag, okay?!” And with a heavy grunt, you flung your back as hard as you could upward into the air. This took faith, because if Flowey didn’t catch it then you’d definitely be smacked in the head and sent plummeting sooner than a few minutes.

__

And thankfully, his vine was long enough to reach the bag that had been heaved up.

__

Your soul was racing at full speed in your chest. As if it were ready to come out any second, and it felt like it. You felt like you could cough it up so easily at this point.

“ _ I know how I feel… _ ” You told yourself, trying not to break down again. It didn’t work, your eyes welled with tears as you felt your grip on the hanging wires begin to slip. Your arms were so tired, and you wanted to give up. 

__

_               I̸̶̸ ̸̷̶p̶̸̴r̴̷̶o̸̶̵m̶̸̴i̷̸̷s̶̶̸e̷̴̷ ̴̴̶t̶̶̵h̴̷̷a̸̸̸t̷̶̷ ̴̴̷I̶̷̸’̴̸̴l̶̸̵l̴̵̷ ̴̶̵b̵̴̴e̵̷̵ ̸̶̵w̸̸̷i̸̸̴t̷̷̵h̵̶̸ ̸̴̷y̴̴̴o̷̴̴u̷̸̴ ̴̷̷e̵̵̶v̵̵̸e̸̷̶r̷̸̷y̷̵̶ ̶̸̴s̴̵̶t̸̵̷e̶̵̷p̸̴̶ ̸̴̴o̶̶̷f̸̸̷ ̴̶̷t̸̷̷h̴̶̷e̴̸̸ ̶̶̷w̷̵̵a̵̵̵y̴̴̴-̴̵̶-̵̸̵ _

__

“I  _ know _ how I feel…!” You repeated, and suddenly your soul shined through. The bright red glow reflected off the wall of wires, and off the white lights that surrounded you. And the light bloomed from deep within your chest, brighter than it had ever been before. Your entire being radiated, and you heaved, grunting as you dry heaved over and over, coughing, as if you had suddenly gotten sick-- but it wasn’t a sickness… it was something else.

The aura of your soul rose, almost like an elevator the light rose from your chest towards your throat and--

__

_             W̸̴̴̰̜͊̿h̴̶̸̭͖̃͠ê̸̵̷̹̈ͅr̴̸̶̞̩̒̈́e̶̸̷̫͚͆͑ ̵̶̴̩̂̾͜ą̶̵̵̭̈́̊r̶̴̸̜̭͘͝e̶̶̵͙̫̓͒ ̵̶̶̟̮̽͘y̸̵̴̝͎̅̑ó̶̷̵͕͔̉u̵̸̶̘͈̓̊ ̸̴̵̧͔͒̊s̴̶̵͕̠̈͠e̵̵̴̠̲̎͂n̴̴̶͇̞͐͝d̶̶̵̰̦̎̚ḭ̴̸̵̜͐ñ̵̴̷̪̤͘g̴̷̵̺̰͗͘ ̴̵̴̦͔́͝t̷̵̴͖͕̂h̶̷̸͎͍̽͒a̵̷̵̭̹̚t̶̵̴͈̫̉̓?̵̸̷̯͈̔͝ _

__

“Flowey!” You called again, the light of your soul now in your throat “This… belongs to you…”

Your body was tearing apart slowly. You feel your world beginning to get crushed, as if gravity were starting to compress and decompress repeatedly. The words of the void rang clear as day now, as your soul’s light radiated purple. The void wanted your soul, but whatever wanted it couldn’t have it, because it didn’t belong to them. But for some reason, you felt it didn’t belong to you anymore either.

Gravity was breaking you into pieces. Your eyes flashed a light unlike your normal pupils as you stared up at Flowey. The beads of water that trickled over your face were clear as day, he wasn’t happy with his cowardly choice.

__

_                      L̸̯̔e̸͔͊t̵̞ ̸̳̋g̸̹̋o̶͍͝,̴͈̑ _ the void cried,  _ g̵̥̈ĩ̷̼v̴͓̕e̶̥̎ ̴̪͆ǐ̶͚n̷̨̒…̶͠ͅ ̷̬͠l̸̝̚ė̴̫t̷̘̐ ̴̭̍m̶̤̓e̵͚̍ ̴̎ͅc̶͈̅o̷̳͋n̷͖͑s̶̠͛ǘ̵̲m̷͈̃e̸̢̎ ̷̢͘y̴͍͘o̶̬͂ṷ̸̈́…̷͉̽!̵̕ͅ _

__

                                    Y̴̷̶̷̷͓͇̺͈͙̋̈́̇͑͘ọ̷̵̸̷̵̡̳̭̱͗̉͊́̆ṵ̸̵̶̴̴̢͙̦͎̌̄̉͝r̶̸̵̷̷͙̪͚͖͔̆̐̋̋̕ ̴̷̸̵̷͈̠̺̖͖͗̐̈̕͠s̶̵̷̵̶̫̩̼̪̍̅͐̃͠ͅo̷̴̴̶̵̡̲̙͇͕̍̑̾͝͝ų̶̵̶̴̶̢̤͓͓̍̔̿̐̚l̸̷̴̸̵͎̫̜͖̹̋͑͑̑̈ ̴̷̴̴̵̣͔̲̻̖͐̄̀̄͘i̴̵̴̷̶̡̜̳̺͙̿̇̾͑̀s̸̷̴̸̶̗̻͕̹̙̀͌̿̓͛ ̷̷̵̶̵̭̝̠͇̀̂̆̓̇ͅạ̶̴̸̵̶͈̦̹̥̍̌́͗l̷̵̴̵̸̛͎̙͕͖͎̀͆̽̒l̷̴̵̴̷̙͉̯̺̪̉̉̏̊̚ ̴̸̸̴̴̢̛̳͙̘̪͑̀͑̓y̸̵̷̷̶̝͍̲̤̞̑̃̋ǒ̸̸̴̷̴̟̯̻̠̏̐̕̚͜ụ̷̸̶̷̴̞̰̳̥̈͛̈́̓̐ ̴̶̴̵̴͎͔͎̺̗̀̉̍̂̌h̵̶̷̵̷͙̘̗͔͎͗̿̅̐̎a̵̵̷̴̶̡͍̣̠͙̔̃̉̾̒v̵̴̷̶̸̧̩̪͔̪͂͛̇̒̆e̵̶̴̶̴̗͙͈̲͙̽͒̊͛̎ ̸̶̴̷̴̛̥͕̲͔͇̄͒̅̈́l̶̶̸̵̷̹̭̫̬̦͒̊̕e̵̵̸̸̸̝̙̤̙͇͌̒̇̉̕f̷̵̸̷̶͇̦̳̳͈̆̓̃̈́̊t̶̵̴̵̵̡͕̞̖̩̅̊̽̉̕,̴̴̶̵̷̯̻̠͕̥͛̾̎̃͘ ̵̵̴̵̴̱̺͈̫̐͗̍͗̚ͅw̷̴̴̵̵̜̻̳̠͊̓͑́̀ͅh̷̴̶̷̴̢̗̘̩͎̉̒̈́̃͝ȃ̴̷̶̶̶͈̻̖̯͂̋͛̈͜t̴̸̴̴̷̢͈͓͈̮̎͂͆͑̓ ̵̶̵̵̵̢͇̹͕̇̂͛̐͜a̴̵̵̸̸̛͙̞̥̙͔̒͗̿́ŗ̵̴̸̵̸̤̗͇͑̔̅̾̿ͅe̴̸̶̶̸͚͍̞̼͇̓̂̕͝ ̸̶̴̷̵̼̠̟̖̞̂̔̊̄̐y̸̸̶̴̶͍͕̝̲͓̿͆̚ǫ̶̷̸̷̷͉̞̱̭͛́̔́̇ṷ̸̶̵̷̵̡̺̲͈͛̿̅̕ ̶̶̷̷̷̜̟͚̩̩̂̀̀̿͘t̵̷̵̶̶̬͎̲͔̼͘͘̚͝r̵̴̵̸̶̠̤͇̬͔̃̅͋̉̓y̸̷̷̴̵̨͖͚̦̠̎́̃̈́̒į̴̶̸̶̴̙̙̤̼̆͑̃͌̚ṇ̸̸̷̶̸̡͓̭̩̐́̉͋͘g̴̴̷̴̶̹̦͙̳̋͗̏͒͋ͅ ̴̵̸̸̵̰̼͔̟̫͆͌̿͆͑t̴̵̵̶̸̳̹̖̬̋̈́̆͛͋͜ŏ̴̴̵̴̵̧͙̜̫̤̀̆͆̾ ̴̵̵̴̸̯̳̮̟͎̏͆͋͌͝ḑ̶̷̷̶̸̨̭͈̂̐̆̽͜͝ọ̸̸̷̴̵͚̗͕͇̈́̾̇̈́͘ ̵̵̴̸̸̛͉̼̥͉̻̑̀͒̕w̸̴̸̴̸̨̠̱̯̾͌̉͑̓͜ḯ̶̵̸̶̶̙͚͍̜͐̔̐͝ͅt̵̵̶̴̷̡̨̜͇̻̽̂̀̎h̴̵̷̴̶̥͖̱̙̱̑̾̋̇̕ ̷̵̸̴̶̧̺̖͍͌̈́̐͜͝ï̷̸̸̵̴̪̤͚͕͈̆͂͂̌t̶̸̴̵̸̠̣͍̟̼͋̅̄̌͝?̸̸̷̶̸̤͈͍̭̹͛̿̓̽̈́

__

“Take care of me…!” You breathe out, and the light shined cyan as you opened your mouth. Aching, feeling your body convulse, and…

__

No…

__

      N̶̸̵̴̸̨̫̫̘̰̟̳̫͉̑̇̐͒̽̔͛͘ö̵̷̵̸̵̦̮̣̗̫̻̠͕͚̈́́͗̒̿͛ ̶̷̷̸̷̧̧̤͍̱̣̹͙̉̈́̾̑̈́̂͜͝w̵̷̸̵̵̧̖̝̟̺͎͙̣̲͛̌̎̍̊̓̑̈́̉h̷̷̸̶̴̢̙̳͇̯̦̺̦̋͒̈̍͗̓̄̑͜à̸̶̷̷̷̘̜̻̦͕̞͎̭̾̍̀̉́͠͠͝ͅṱ̷̶̷̵̴̖͍̹̺͎̮̱̾͒̏̈́͂͌̓̚͜͝ ̴̴̴̵̶̢͈̱̥̠̗̫̩̔͗̉͋̏̐̈͊͜͠à̶̵̷̴̸͔̤̦̪̼̻͉̭͓̔͆͗͋̐̐̀́r̸̵̵̴̸̘͕̹̤̬̻̼̺̼̊̀̃͌̏̎̈̕̚e̸̶̴̷̶̡̻̝̳̠̹͙̭͉͐̓́̆̿̔͂̕̕ ̴̵̶̸̷̨͈̰̣̖̳͍͇̙̋́̓́̏̊̎̚͝y̵̴̷̶̵̡̗͖̘͖̘̲͔̦̾̑̈́̒̈́̉͂͝o̷̶̸̷̴̞̗̣̜͙͖̯̣͇̿̎̍̓͒̃͛̃͗ư̷̷̶̴̷͚̣͚̦̱̻̳̓̍̍̓͛̊̀̚͜͜ ̶̷̶̶̶͉̼̫̫̩̬̹̤̲͋͛̓̓͊̂̕͝͠d̷̵̸̷̵̡̞̦͓͍̬̝̻̪̈́̍̃̒͂͐͘͘͝o̷̴̶̸̷̢͎̦̻̣̹̳͇͔͆͗̇͌̈́͊̀͝ǐ̶̴̶̴̸̧̜̦͇̙̺̘̘̪̓̽̒̓̔̊͛͘n̵̴̸̶̸̡͇̰͇͇̤̥͈̮̈̓̓́͘̚͠g̶̷̷̵̵̣͈̳͍̳͎͚͍͙̈́̐̉͒̃̑͘̕-̵̴̵̵̶̨̪̟̠̖̝̦͊̓̈́̏̆͜͝͝͝ͅ-̶̵̶̶̷̧͈̻͈͚̠̜̙̠̈́̔̉̐̍̃̓̚͠ ̸̷̸̶̶̨̢̣͚̜̱͉̦͆̀̒̇̍͌̆̄̕ͅp̶̸̷̶̴̱͎͙̪̹̮͕̼̜͌̿͋̇̌̇̕̕l̴̵̵̵̷̨̩̩̥̤̦͉̘͚̍̋͂̎̈́̔͛̏̚e̷̸̴̵̸̢̩̫̮̠̪̪̺̊̊̎͌̐̀̽̉͠ͅa̷̶̷̷̵̧̛̗̜̼̲̭͚̹̲̾̄̂̆͌̀̎̍s̶̶̴̸̵̡̮̪̩̘͈̰̤̹͂̃̃̐͛͒͗̈́ȩ̸̴̶̶̴͓̳̹̝̗̺͚̼͂̿̓̆͗̈́̎̏͘…̷̵̴̶̶̨̳̹̘̠͎͈͓̖̊̃̈͂͐͊͆͐̿!̴̷̴̶̸͈̥͔̝͍̱̖̟͋͑̓͗̋͌̈́͌͜͝

̶̴̸̶̸̢̛͕͈̳̭̬̻̹̝̑̆́̌̂̈͘͠

̴̷̵̴̶̧̨̣̱̹̥̠̻̝̒̑̂̃͗̿͘̚͠W̵̵̶̸̸̡̨̛͕͙͕͎̟̫͚͋̈͋̄͆̐̚e̶̵̵̷̷̡̛̛͔̜͖̗̱̹͉̍̊̈́͋̔̓͜͝ ̵̷̴̵̴̨̝̭̰̭͇͔̰͐̐̊̑̋̽̈́̔̈́͜c̴̷̴̶̴̭͉̱̙̞͙̟̊̓͑̔͌̈́̅͐͜͝ͅä̴̶̶̶̵̬̫̟͍̟͕̠̬̰́̑̈́́̒̆͌̒̽ņ̴̴̵̷̷̞̰͍̥̪͖̣͒̆̓̒̌͂̓̈̇͜’̶̶̵̷̷̨͎͈̝̩̫̩͚͒̀̓̔̾̉͘͠ͅt̵̴̷̷̴͈̞͓̳̦̜̭̽̐̆̈́̄̆͘͜ͅ-̷̵̸̷̸̢̡̰͔͍̱̻̝̼̏͛͆͒̄̕̕͠͝-̵̵̸̸̴̲̭̤̝͙̙̗̺͙̄͗͆̇͒͂́͠͝!̷̴̸̶̸̢̯͍̜̻̩̟̈̆̐̌̒̏͌͋̈͜ͅ

__

In the blink of an eye, I was given full control. And I felt so empty… so empty and alone in a form that once belonged to two. No… it was never mine to begin with, it always belonged to you. But what can I do?  **What can I do?!** I’m practically  _ forced _ to watch as your soul slowly begins to float upward, up to the  _ weed _ who too graciously snatched it and fled. 

__

He left me, he left  _ us _ and you  _ g̸a̸v̷e̵ ̸h̸i̷m̴ ̶ý̷̷̸̨͍͕̪͌̅̇ǫ̴̴̸̰̺̖͛̊̌͠u̴̷̷̟̪̦̤͗̌̓̐r̵̵̸̨̞̗̱̍̊͛̾ ̷̷̷̲͇̼̳̑̊̅͆s̶̵̶̳̟̣͙̄̍̏̍o̵̴̶̬̹̟̳̎͑͂͗ȕ̷̸̶̹̟͚̞͋͊͒l̷̸̴̢͈̻̘̃̐̈͠.̵̶̵̥̫͈͈̔̌̐͘ _

__

_...but you aren’t supposed to die! _

__

What’s wrong with you?! 

__

**WHY WOULD YOU GIVE EVERYTHING UP FOR THE SAKE OF SOME LUNATIC?!** A sociopathic plant who doesn’t care about you like I do?!

__

_ Who are you?  _ You fade away from me.

__

And as angry as I am, as hurt as I am, there was no use. You left, your soul had been taken by the one you couldn’t help but love even in what… what is this, death? Are you… are you dead?

__

I cried gently to myself, all alone. It took so long for me to find you… to make it up to this point here, with you… just for you to vanish again. You of all people know what it’s like… to lose someone you care about-- to have problems trusting anyone-- to feel betrayed if that one piece of happiness chose someone else over their own well being--

__

What don’t you understand? It’s ME… it’s always been me… _ your best friend... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Let’s remember the backgrounds of the two main folks of this story:  
> >At this point we all know a lot about the readers background. Reader has had a rough life of living with strict parents, as well as losing a best friend(and potential crush) to the curse of Mt. Ebott. Because of this loss they’ve struggled with letting people close enough, out of fear of eventually losing them. Disowned by their own parents, it’s not until college that the reader gets closer to Frisk and Frisk’s family of monsters, and they even attend both their graduation. But try as they might to get closer to reader, reader remains vigilant in being a loner.  
> >And with Flowey’s background: Since the breaking of the barrier underground and a promise Frisk made with Asriel, Flowey was forced to stay behind in solitary confinement out of a fear even Asriel considered too risky for the surface world. With this came focus, and the reason why Flowey is very well rounded with his skillset(from heavy reading of practically all the books of the Underground. Marinating in hatred towards Chara for how they treated him(Or better yet Asriel)), he holds onto this distrust but also tries to fight it. It had been well over 'just a handful' of years since he’s experienced interacting face to face with someone, thus spiraling into a web of confusing emotions and self-control. Is this love? Is this hate?  
> >He starts off in the story as someone who's well aware of the fourth wall and his intent is the break it by informing the ‘main character’ of their capabilities and his role in the ‘story’, however the further the journey progresses and the closer he gets to said ‘main character’, he realizes that “maybe this story isn’t so shitty after all~!”
> 
> >So now for a better explanation of the overall plotline:  
> >This story is about learning to be honest with yourself. Be open hearted, be willing, remember to take risks but don’t risk it all if you aren’t ready for the dive. Follow what you believe in. Follow your heart but listen to your brain when it talks to you.
> 
> >Faith and trust and love; it’s about knowing when to hang on and keep striving, and it’s about knowing when it’s okay to let go and move on. Love can be insanity, love can be pure and beautiful, love can be the death of you and it can be the rebirth of you. If you love someone, set them free… and if they don’t come back it was never meant to be.


	27. D̸̶̴̴̶̴̶r̶̴̴̴̴̴̸e̴̴̷̴̸̷̶a̷̵̸̸̷̶̵m̶̴̷̵̴̷̴i̷̸̷̸̷̶̷n̵̷̷̸̵̸̷g̶̵̵̶̵̷̸

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “̸G̸o̸o̶d̷ ̴l̷u̵c̴k̴ ̸o̴n̷ ̶y̵o̶u̸r̸ ̸j̵o̷u̸r̵n̸e̴y̵.̶”̸

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Think of this as an interlude chapter.  
> >It's short but with purpose-- at least I think so...  
> >Edit:: Once again issue with wingdings sighs, it would've been so cool~ But I couldn't even title it the way I wanted to. Please enjoy anyway?  
> >Edit Edit:: Tags were updated, as well as character tag to include Gaster now! So everyone please welcome the gaster fans who probably started reading this in hopes of daddy gaster action lol XD

###  **Chapter Twenty-Seven: D̸̶̴̴̶̴̶r̶̴̴̴̴̴̸e̴̴̷̴̸̷̶a̷̵̸̸̷̶̵m̶̴̷̵̴̷̴i̷̸̷̸̷̶̷n̵̷̷̸̵̸̷g̶̵̵̶̵̷̸**

As if everything were a dream, their eyes were shrouded. Whether closed or open, they couldn’t tell—but they were free falling. Plummeting. Diving deeper and deeper into the endless dark in which had been called _The Void_.

They expected that they wouldn’t feel anything at all. They expected that, since they had given up their soul, they would feel completely empty and emotionless. And yet here they were… falling forever… feeling whole, feeling full… feeling alive.

Feeling scared.

 

Feeling _so s̶c̶a̷r̴e̶d̷ ̷a̵n̸d̸ ̷a̷f̶r̸a̵i̵d̷.̷_

 

They knew the end was near, it was all just a matter of time. Seconds… minutes… _hou̸r̶s̶… d̶a̷y̷s̸…̴ ̴m̶o̴n̷t̶h̶s̵…̵ ̵y̸e̸a̷r̷s̵…̴_

And they would reach this end alone, as everyone is born… and everyone dies… alone. A cycle of life… a cycle of death… a cycle of loneliness.

 

 _I’m scared…_ They spoke out, but their words rang dry. Nothing escaped their lips, not even air as they simply continued to fall into the dark. That rollercoaster feeling when one took a drop. The adrenaline rush that came with it, the moment of fear and helplessness.

 _I’m so scared…_ they felt the need to breathe, but they were breathless as they continued to fall down.

 

Down, down, down… deeper into the darkness of _The Void_.

 

_I’m so alone._

 

How far was the bottom now? How long had it been?

They couldn’t even look at themselves. They couldn’t see their hands, their feet… there was nothing left but time.

They had given up everything, everything that made them human, everything that made them unique and powerful… everything that made them weak and generic.

And as time pushed on, and that sinking feeling washed over them over and over, they had grown numb. Numb to the adrenaline that caused whatever was left of them to panic. A new overwhelming sensation hit them like a rock; sadness and anguish. That empty loneliness, the feeling of remorse. But there was no regret.

 

Just hope.

 

A sound was heard off in the distance, but in reality it was they who cried. The gentle sobs, the slow rolling tears. If it were possible, they hung their head low and covered their face to weep into their hands in the dark. It was so lonely… so lonely in _The Void_.

 

_F̵l̸o̶w̵e̶y̷…̶!̶ ̴_

They tried to cry, they tried so hard to call out for him.

_F̷l̶o̴w̴e̸y̷…̸!̷_

 

_“Look at me.”_

The fallen human uncovered their face, the breeze and tears in the dark forced them to squint their eyes. In the distance, farther up above, down he started to fall. Flower pot missing, Flowey almost looked spider like as his roots and tendrils fell and fluttered with him, making it appear as if he crawled through the air like magic. He repeated solemnly “Look only at me.”

“Flowey…!” The human smiled, immediately opening their arms wide to accept Flowey’s descent. There were no thoughts, there were no questions, his vines outstretched and entangled themselves around them, and as simple as that the two embraced tightly.

_And the fall didn’t feel as cold and lonely as before._

They blinked away their tears, Flowey’s vine curled and coiled around them almost protectively as they continued to fall in total silence.

 _His heartbeat,_ you heard it with a small smile, _I can hear his heart beating._

 

_This is bliss._

 

The embrace could have lasted an eternity, it felt like time had stood still just for them. The sensation of falling had ceased for at least a little while, Flowey’s words had broken the illusion that surrounded them “I couldn’t leave you alone like this…”

 

“I didn’t want to abandon you…”

“…to suffer, all by yourself…”

“If we’re going to die... _we’ll die together.”_

 

And they laughed “I don’t know if that’s romantic or stupid.”

 

The embrace felt more tighter then, and for a moment everything was peaceful. Everything was alright. The human felt that Flowey was more than capable of killing them both and ending the torture… but maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe he wasn’t ready… maybe he wanted to stay like this for a little while longer.

_Maybe._

But they were so happy either way, the tears filled their eyes again and blurred their vision. The vision of green vines encased around them, all that they could see were faded splashes of green, yellow, and black.

“I’m still really scared, Flowey…” They admitted quietly, the tears turned into gentle sobs, and their arms wrapped more tightly around the bundle of tendrils that kept a strong hold of them. It was inevitable, and yet they couldn’t shake the feeling of fear that filled them. More than anything they wished that they couldn’t feel anymore… but they knew that if that were the case, then they wouldn’t feel so strongly for a passionate moment like this.

“It’ll be quick and painless…” Flowey said simply, brushing a vine over their head to comb their hair almost carefully.

And it was hard to admit it, it was almost painful and somewhat disgusting that it took the two of them dying in order for the human to confess… but…

“I love you, Flowey.” They spilled. The comforting gesture of Flowey’s vines combing their hair put them at ease. The unknown was frightening, but going with someone didn’t sem all that bad.

 

But...

 

_“I love you too… I love you boys so much.”_

 

The human quickly lifted their head then, looking up to Flowey as their tears blinked away. Their embrace loosened, and they let go as the façade dispersed “Who are you talking about...”

Flowey was silent then, the look in his eyes had almost turned static, as the color of his pupils faded from their auburn-red hue’s to that of grey. As if he were just a computer program, his face had glitched and, for a second, looked as if it had been dislocated before appearing back in its place. The sudden twitch of his appearance made the human pull back more fully.

 

“ _W̷e̵ ̵s̶e̵e̸ ̶t̴h̴i̴n̶g̸s̷ ̴d̶i̴f̵f̵e̷r̸e̵n̸t̵l̷y̶,̸ ̴y̸o̴u̵ ̸a̸n̴d̶ ̶I̶…̶_ ” Flowey’s tendrils slowly pulled together, taking shape of a humanistic form as they wrapped around each other to create a stick-figure like body. Eventually his face started to break, and his eyes went hollow as he lowered his head. The darkness that the two of them fell through together began to surround his new makeshift body, practically consuming everything but the face and petals along his head “ _T̶̵̸͈͓̓h̶̵̷̩͗̎ͅě̵̶̷̼̻͝ ̷̸̵͚͈͛͊V̶̴̷̛̦̗̑ȏ̷̶̷̱̙͆i̴̸̴̹̝͂̅d̸̷̷͓̅̆ͅ ̴d̸r̶i̷v̷e̶s̵ ̵u̸s̴ ̵m̵a̷d̶…̶_ ” Flowey’s voice was distorted, and though the familiar voice still escaped his lips, someone elses voice seemed to repeat everything he said, as if it were a shadow in his lungs “̸͒ͅÎ̸͔t̴͉͐ ̷͕̎h̷̛̗e̶͈͂l̵̼̈p̸̙͛s̶̖̎ ̶̮̎ṵ̷̅ŝ̵͚…̴͔̿ ̴͔̑i̶̦͗t̶̡̊ ̶̥̽ḃ̶͉r̴̘̓e̵̛͈a̶̦͒k̷̨ș̵̄ ̶̭̈́ù̷̢ș̵̋…̸̗̄ ̸͓̀b̶̮̉u̵̟̿t̶̤̒ ̸̈́͜l̸̪i̶̗̔k̷͔̂ȅ̷̝ ̵̫͑ã̴̬ ̶̹̄d̶̪̓r̸͕̾ũ̶͎g̸̱̎ ̵̖͠ì̴͉ẗ̵̫́ ̶̤̇c̷̙͛o̸͖̅n̴̪̓s̷̡̿u̴̖͗m̷̙͒e̴̖̕s̶̻̎ ̶̖͝u̸͐͜s̷̹͗.̶̡̚.̴̺̿.̸̨͆”̴̨̑

“Who _are_ you…” The fallen one had asked carefully, wiping the tears from their eyes when the person revealed themselves. It wasn’t Flowey, it was a skeleton with a face that had cracks and breaks coming from both their eyes. The lines fell down their skull to their jaw, and up their forehead and over as if a laser had been used to make cuts over their head. Looking rather similar to a reaper, the human questioned if they were even falling to begin with—maybe all this time they had already been dead.

 

“M̵y̴ ̶a̷p̶o̷l̷o̵g̴i̵e̷s̶…̶” Was all the skeleton said, however they soon halted their fall. The both of them were forced to freeze mid-air and practically float, as if time literally froze and started to bend just so they could share one moment together.

 

A man who had long since decomposed of flesh and muscle—or maybe he had never been living to begin with. His bones were pale, paler than what the human could compare to how pale actual bones could be. Was he a living skeleton? Was he simply a monster? When the fall had stopped, the darkness that attempted to consume his body simply began to melt around him, forming a black mist-like cloak that covered his skeletal form as it crackled and clicked like invisible fire. He was a pale, long and tall, lanky skeleton… his eyes hollow, and wearing a coat of death over his form. And after his true appearance had been made, all he said, once again, was “M̵y̴ ̶a̷p̶o̷l̷o̵g̴i̵e̷s̶…̶”

 

“Who _are_ you?” The human repeated nervously, and the skeleton finally breathed out, his breath like cigarette smoke, and chilly as if it were Winter “T̵h̷e̶y̵ ̷c̶a̵l̵l̷ ̷m̷e̷ ̶Ġ̷̶̷̮̤̅Ȧ̶̸̴̰͕̔S̶̷̷̱̜̍̕T̴̵̷̩̅͝ͅĘ̸̵̵̫̊̉R̸̴̸̂̊͜͜…̴”

 

“ _W̸͍̊e̶̢͝l̴̖̀c̵̒ͅo̴͚̊ṁ̴̦ę̵͒ ̶͖̎ţ̴̚o̴̗͘ ̸͔_ **_T̴̟h̶̯͐ę̷̄ ̶͜͝V̶̹̍o̷̟̓i̴͔d̸̞̎_ ** _…̵̰͒ ̴̪b̴̮̂u̷̢̾t̶̠͂ ̸̥̒ÿ̸̥́ô̸̞ṵ̵̚ ̷̯̈́å̸̦r̴̯̂e̶̡̎ ̸̠n̶͕̒ỏ̶̢t̴͔͋ ̵͓̕r̴̡͊ḛ̷̾a̵̺̿l̷̲̈́ḻ̵̋y̴͍͐ ̷̳̇h̴̢̛ĕ̷͈r̶̢̛e̴̅͜.̴̣̏_ ”

 

They finally looked around, hugging themselves as if it would protect them from the dark that surrounded them both. There was still nothing more than pitch black silence, the only sounds beside them were emitting from the humans own breathing, and the small fidgety movements of the male skeleton, that continued to crack and snap with each bend of his limbs and body. “What do you mean? How am I not here? Where am I?”

 

“̶I̵ ̸w̵i̷s̸h̶ ̸y̵o̵u̵ ̶w̷o̴u̷l̷d̸ ̴h̴a̶v̷e̸ ̴g̶i̸v̶e̴n̶ ̶m̷e̵ ̸a̷ ̶c̵h̴a̴n̴c̴e̷ ̶t̷o̵ ̶s̴e̵e̸ ̵t̶h̶e̶m̶…̷”̷ Gaster remarked calmly. In one moment, his jaw had dislocated, as if it were floating away from him—but in the blink of an eye it was back as if it never left. His eyes glowed, deep within their sockets were tiny blue orbs of light that almost stared right through their soul _“̵I̵ ̴m̵i̸s̴s̸ ̸t̷h̵e̴m̴…̵ ̴I̸ ̸n̴e̴v̷e̶r̷ ̶g̷o̵t̴ ̵t̵o̷ ̶s̵a̸y̷ ̸g̸o̶o̵d̶b̸y̷e̵…̵”̴_

They could barely remember anything that had happened before this moment. As if the absence of the light was causing their memories to fade. Touching their chest, the human realized they truly didn’t have a soul anymore, they were truly empty “What did you want it for…?”

 _“̴I̸ ̸n̴e̴v̷e̶r̷ ̶g̷o̵t̴ ̵t̵o̷ ̶s̵a̸y̷ ̸g̸o̶o̵d̶b̸y̷e̵…”_ Gaster repeated. His voice echoed, it sounded like a computer—as if he were broken, or a pre-recorded message for any and all who were doomed to fall into _The Void._ He could have just been a welcoming message for lost souls. “I̸ ̷w̸a̵s̴ ̸h̴e̴r̶e̴ ̵l̵o̴n̸g̷e̶r̴…̷ ̷̠̋ **i̸̬̐ẗ̴̯ ̷̢̐ḭ̸̍s̷̘̽n̵̩͝’̷͚̅ţ̵͛ ̸͙́f̸͈̓a̵̜͌į̸̆r̸̘̈́…̶̼͆** I̵ ̶w̸a̷s̵ ̵h̷e̸r̸e̶ ̵l̶o̵n̷g̵e̵r̷ ̴t̴h̴a̴n̷ ̸t̶h̷e̶ ̷f̵l̶o̶w̷e̸r̸…̷ ̷s̶i̶n̵c̷e̵ ̸w̶h̷e̴n̵ ̶h̵a̴s̶ ̶t̸h̷e̴ ̸p̴r̸i̸c̵e̷ ̴o̵f̶ ̸k̵n̷o̸w̸l̷e̸d̷g̶e̵ ̷b̶e̸c̶o̴m̸e̷ ̶e̸q̸u̴a̶l̵ ̶t̴o̵ ̵t̷h̶a̸t̴ ̵o̸f̶ ̵ **_g̴̴̷͉̘̐͌é̶̴̴͖̖̿ṉ̶̵̵͚̓͠ǫ̷̷̸̤̐c̷̸̸̤̝̈͑i̵̵̸͔͉̒̚ḏ̵̶̴͍̐͂e̵̸̸̦̜͝?̷̴̸̗͓͆̿_ ** ”̸

 

“ _.̸.̸.̴I̸ ̶d̴e̸s̷e̶r̵v̷e̵ ̸a̸ ̶h̵a̵p̴p̸y̷ ̴e̸n̷d̵i̵n̸g̴,̶ ̴t̶o̴o̸.̷_ ”

 

The human shifted, it was hard to move when one felt weightless, and even harder when one had been forced to stop as if gravity had been shut down “I’ll find a way for everyone to get their happy ending, I promise…”

 

“̵̷̵̵̵̸̵͕̗̬̤̒͑̅̅P̸̸̶̴̵̵̸̢̧̲̪̒͗̉͒r̶̷̶̵̵̴̸̲̘̘̮̓͋̍ŏ̶̵̴̸̶̵̶͈͎̖̔͆͘ͅm̴̷̶̸̶̷̶̡̫̺̪͑͘͠í̵̷̶̷̶̸̴̢̝̥͕̒̅͝s̷̷̵̸̷̷̸̱̬̞̥͐͌̇̎ę̸̶̸̵̵̷̵̜͈̥͂̌̈͘s̷̷̶̵̶̸̵̮̠̲͓̓͌̓̈ ̴̵̸̷̵̸̵̤̱̱̪̃̾͆͐m̸̷̷̸̶̵̵̻̝̮̺͌̈́͘ȩ̶̸̸̸̸̸̶̙̮̪̔̄ȃ̵̴̷̴̷̷̴̢̖̝͍̊͝͝n̴̸̶̴̴̴̴̲̬̥͔͒̌̃͘ ̸̴̴̷̶̵̵̨͎̝̖̽̑̑͝n̴̶̸̶̵̷̶̦̱̖̫͂̈́̄͝o̵̵̷̵̵̷̸̟͈͙͎̾̽̓̏t̵̶̵̶̷̸̶̺̫̗̱̒͗̃̾h̷̵̷̴̵̴̸̼̩̞̫̾͛̀̕i̵̷̴̶̶̵̴̳̬̝̯͂̀́̋n̸̸̵̵̷̶̷̩̳̻̞̓̈́͊͠g̶̸̶̴̴̸̷̝̫͚͇̃̉͋̈́,̶̷̸̵̸̴̸̨̡̪͔̀̈́̄͝ ̶̷̴̸̸̴̸͚͇͍͈̃̈́̂͝p̵̵̵̶̶̸̵̫͈̈͊̆͜͜͠o̷̵̸̷̷̸̴̥̥̠̘̓͋͛̄o̴̶̶̶̸̷̸̘̲̺͍͗͒͠͝r̷̴̷̸̵̶̴̤͓͎̤̈̊̔͐ ̸̵̸̶̶̵̷͉͕̙̜̄̈́͘ḧ̵̶̸̶̸̷̵̡̝̱͔̅͝͠u̴̸̴̷̷̴̸̟͇͓̝̾͑̊̔m̶̶̵̷̸̷̴̖͓̬̻͑̆̅̅a̵̸̵̶̷̶̷̫̞̻̤͋͂͌͗n̸̴̴̵̸̴̴͓͕̬̜͛̓͝͝.̷̸̷̸̸̴̷̤̳̘͔͑͋̾͊”̴̷̵̵̵̷̶̡̞̫̝̌͂̑͛

 

“̴͈Y̸̥o̶͇u̸̻r̴͜ ̶̨s̷͕t̴̰o̸͎r̷̤y̴̟ ̸̻w̸̳i̸̘l̶͍l̴̯ ̴̰ **ḛ̸n̷̜d̴̫ ̴̦h̷̺ḙ̵r̶̗e̴̖** ̷͍i̸͔f̸͔ ̶͇y̴͚o̸̦u̵̱ ̵͜d̴͖ǫ̸ ̶̟n̵̳o̵̝t̴̠ ̵̰a̷͎c̶̳t̷̩.̴̳ ̴͚T̸͔h̸̝e̸͎r̶̢e̷̟ ̷ͅi̸͍s̸̢ ̷̺ **ṋ̷ǫ̴ ̴͚p̵̬o̵̭s̵̬s̸̼i̶̜b̷̪i̵̭l̶̝i̷͔t̵͔y̸̱** ̴͍o̶̤f̸͚ ̸̻ę̸v̷̝e̸̪r̷̬y̴͜o̴̤n̶ͅe̶͙ ̵̖b̵͉e̸̖c̸͖o̷̤m̴̼m̵̢i̶͚n̶̮ģ̴ ̴̲ **h̸͈ą̵p̴̧p̶̹y̷̝.̶̲** ”̵̩ Gaster was quick to turn down the fallen’s attempt at making things even. As if they had a choice—as if Gaster would do something if he were pleased enough. There was no telling what this man could or couldn’t do. “̸W̵e̶ ̵s̵e̴e̶ ̸w̴h̶a̷t̸ ̵w̵e̷ ̵l̷i̸k̶e̶ ̴h̸e̴r̶e̵…̴ ̷s̵o̵ ̴t̶h̸a̴t̴ ̵w̸e̴ ̴c̵a̸n̸ ̸̴d̷̷̷r̶̶̴e̵̶̴a̴̸̸m̶̶̷ ̶̵̷f̵̴̵o̸̵̵r̷̸̴e̴̶̷v̵̴̶e̷̸̶r̸̵̸.̵̵̵ _T̸͈̿ḧ̷̬́ë̸́ͅ ̸̭̆V̴̥̊o̵͔͊i̵͚̎d̷̫̎_ i̸s̵ ̴l̵i̷k̶e̸ ̴a̴ ̴d̴r̵e̷a̴m̴s̵c̵a̶p̴e̸,̵ ̴i̴t̸ ̷i̷s̸ ̶w̸h̷e̶r̶e̸ ̴t̵h̵e̵ ̵l̵o̵s̴t̸ ̵s̵o̶u̶l̷s̶ ̴r̵o̵a̴m̸…̴ ̸i̸t̸ ̸i̵s̵ ̴w̸h̴e̴r̵e̷ ̸t̶h̴e̸ ̷s̴o̶u̵l̴l̴e̵s̶s̷ ̴r̷o̷a̵m̸…̴”̷

“Do you not have a soul?” The human dared to ask. Gaster replied with his own question _“̵D̴o̵ ̶y̷o̴u̵?̵”̵_

“Everyone deserves a happy ending.” They say simply.

 

Just like that, time continued marching on.

 

The two of them returned to falling. Gaster’s cloak was ghost-like, as he fell the end of it would disperse and vanish into the faint breeze above, but it would always remain. The human ignored their fall, as they carefully moved themselves closer towards the skeleton. They simply took ahold of their boney fingers to grip onto them “I promise I’ll try…”

 _“̶D̵e̸t̵e̴r̵m̴i̸n̶a̵t̴i̶o̵n̵ ̸c̵a̶n̸ ̶g̷e̵t̶ ̸y̵o̷u̵ ̷f̵a̸r̴…̷”̷_ Gaster commented, but his jaw slowly formed a rather crooked grin. Intimidating, discomforting, but it was warm and accepting. “̷W̵e̷ ̸s̸e̸e̵k̸ ̵c̵o̴m̷f̴o̸r̴t̷ ̶i̵n̶ ̴o̵u̷r̵ ̴h̵e̶a̶d̴s̴…̸ ̷t̵h̸e̴ ̴i̸m̵a̶g̵i̴n̸a̸t̸i̶o̸n̶ ̵i̴s̷ ̸s̶a̴f̷e̵…̵ ̷i̵t̸ ̶i̸s̸ ̶e̸a̴s̶i̸e̷r̵ ̵t̵o̵ ̶h̴o̶p̸e̴ ̸w̵h̵e̴n̴ ̸y̶o̸u̶ ̶d̵o̶n̵’̵t̴ ̷l̷o̶o̸k̷ ̶d̸o̴w̵n̴…̶”̴

 

“̸G̸o̸o̶d̷ ̴l̷u̵c̴k̴ ̸o̴n̷ ̶y̵o̶u̸r̸ ̸j̵o̷u̸r̵n̸e̴y̵.̶”̸

 

The glowing in his eyes seemed to fade then “̷A̶n̵d̷ ̵p̴l̵e̶a̷s̷e̴…̸ ̵i̴f̵ ̷y̷o̷u̶ ̴m̵a̵y̷…̶ ̸t̸e̴l̸l̴ ̵t̴h̷e̸m̵ ̶I̷ ̶l̶o̶v̴e̸ ̵t̴h̵e̵m̴ ̴a̵n̶d̶ ̸I̵ ̷m̴i̶s̸s̶ ̴t̴h̶e̶m̴…̵”̴

 

The human winced “Who are they?”

 

He patted their hands, before pulling away from them. With a small wave, he commented lowly _“Our time here is up. I hope… to never see you again.”_

 

_“̸̹͝T̵̢̾h̸̞̚ȅ̴̝ ̶̺̒s̷̼͊o̸͔͠u̷̳l̸̩̒ ̴̠̋i̵͍̎s̴̺̽ ̶̛̜a̶͇͑ ̴̗̈t̵̟̄w̵̰͝ö̴̟́ ̶̲̾w̴͔̉a̵̤̋y̶͜͝ ̵̫̿p̷̱͂a̶̺̅t̸̘̿h̵̠͝,̵̺̅ ̴̫̏y̴̥͠o̸͚͑u̷̱̔ ̷̛͎m̴̪͠û̴͖s̶̪͆t̶͔̒ ̸̲̉w̵̋ͅa̴͉͠n̶̲̕ẗ̷͉́ ̴̙t̶̮͘o̸͓̓ ̴̲͆l̸̲̃e̴̞͝a̵̖͗v̶̳͠e̵͙͠ ̴̟͆i̴̧̒n̴̳ ̶̗̌o̶̻͝r̷͎͗ḋ̵̤e̵̱͂r̶̪͂ ̵̭̐t̷̡́ŏ̵̘ ̴̔ͅm̸̢͝ǒ̷̞v̶̗̉e̷̜̋ ̷̩̈f̷͙́o̷̥̍r̷̭͑w̶͇͐a̶͎̚r̸̰̎d̴̩̏.̴̞̔”̸̬͗_

 

Gaster vanished into the void, everything of him faded away until he fully disappeared. The human continued to plummet alone.

 

D̸̶̴̴̶̴̶r̶̴̴̴̴̴̸e̴̴̷̴̸̷̶a̷̵̸̸̷̶̵m̶̴̷̵̴̷̴i̷̸̷̸̷̶̷n̵̷̷̸̵̸̷g̶̵̵̶̵̷̸.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >I feel rather melancholic today.


	28. He Wouldn't Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But either way, they had faith in you making the right decision, and you knew they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >It doesn't help that today I got sick again.  
> >I have the next chapter after this one ready and just needing to be edited. But I'm going back to my old routine of "Don't post next chapter until the NEXT chapter is atleast written out"  
> >I was secretly hoping to write the chapter AFTER the next chapter before posting this, but because I'm sick my inspriation ran dry XD; so I dont think I'll be writing much.
> 
> >Man, hope yall have as much fun jumping around in different perspective's like I did while writing the next couple chapters of this fic. :3

###  **Chapter Twenty-Eight:** ** _He Wouldn’t Give Up_**

 

_ Why am I here again, Flowey? _

 

You feel your tendrils curl, your teeth clench as drool slipped through and down your chin. Your petals were turning jagged, as if slowly beginning to tear on their own or decompose like time sped forward. The world around you was suddenly still, everything seemed normal, as if the silence had been welcomed and all sounds and noises were swept away-- and yet there you were, in total agony as you snarled, and jittered, and twitched in an attempt to stop yourself from tearing apart from the inside out. You could feel bones growing inside your stem, stretching you and trying to re-create your very being. Your petals continued to crackle and split, and yet you tried to hold yourself back. They twitched and shuddered with the rest of your body as you tried to fight off the powerful urge to lose yourself. To succumb to the energy and greed that had been granted to you, to give in to total and absolute control-- by ironically, letting go of your own control. 

The souls power was way too strong for you, it harnessed a pretty close amount to all of the souls you used to know and  _ love _ forever ago. That power… that  _ hunger _ … and you got a free soul all to yourself now. That excitement, that rush, the reminder of what you had once longed for… what you had once  _ missed-- _

And your mind raced, you tugged at your mental process like it were a game; tug-of-war. While on the outside your vines that had sprouted out into claws started to dig deep into the metal of the bridge, inside yourself you pondered everything that you had been through up to this point, and everything that could happen in the future. 

You were too self-aware, you hated it… you absolutely  _ hated _ knowing  _ everything _ —but at the same time no one knew everything, you just connected the dots through experiences you’ve dealt with before. And this,  _ this you’ve dealt with before. _

 

This feeling of—

 

“Shut  _ up…! _ ”

 

You snapped like a dog as spit dribbled down your body. And I pushed on about said feeling of strength. No control… lust for domination. Neither human nor monster, but you play a really great role at  _ demon _ .

 

**_“̵̴̴̡̫̽̕I̴̵̴͖̯͠͠ ̴̷̷̧̟͆̈Ŝ̷̸̵̲̱̌Á̷̷̸̮̜I̸̶̵̤̰͑̍D̶̴̸̮̫̿ ̴̵̴̹̙̽̋S̶̴̴͎͈̚H̷̶̵̥͊͐͜Ủ̸̶̵͔̭̐T̸̷̸̬̻̅̈ ̴̸̷̣̟̉͑Ụ̴̷̶̊ͅP̷̵̴͚͓̔̉!̵̸̸̢͕̃͝!̶̷̴͕̱̏̄”̶̷̵͔͇̇̍_ **

 

You dug further into the bridge, it was sturdy enough but it wouldn’t be for long if you kept up your actions. But what would you do now? The real question was… would you give into temptation? It was technically a  _ gift _ , after all… no use letting it go to waste…

 

_ “We’ll get through this! I promise, I won’t let go!” _

 

Or would you save them? Still hanging on for dear life?

 

How were they still alive with  _ no soul? _

 

The pain shot through you like electricity. Your eyes practically bulged out your sockets as your form started to grow. Your stem thickening, growing prickly as sharp thorns pushed out your green skin. And you fought it, you fought against the rage that started to churn inside you only because you wanted time to think. You needed to truly think about what to do with this returned power of yours.

 

Did you want to change? Did you want to give in?

 

The power couldn’t be contained any longer. As you shut your eyes tightly, you snarled, gagging and drooling as you curled forward. It took awhile, and you were dry heaving like a cat, but finally you spewed out the colorful soul. And just like that your body returned to normal.

 

Just Flowey the flower.

 

_ “Ugh…” _ You grimaced, using a root to wipe at your mouth. The soul that rested on the bridge floor now returned to its shimmering state, floating upward to defy gravity. It constantly tried to push towards you, naturally a human soul out in the open was so easy to absorb, but you kept pushing it away real quick with a flick of your leaf. It was even harder to touch a soul without consuming it, but you fought back the urge. Now wasn’t the time to change, let alone while on a bridge that hovered over an abyss.

“Why do you keep  _ talking! _ ” You snapped, at no one in particular because—wait, yeah I forgot you can hear everything. Your head darted left and right, then left again, before you lightly started to smack the side of your face in hopes of snapping out of the state you were in. You felt overwhelmed again, it didn’t help that the soul gave you a surge of power and emotions along with it before you released it back out. But here you were again, curiously pondering your next moves.

 

More souls? You had one soul that was strong enough to transform you into your  _ ultimate being _ , but you wondered if you could manage upon more somehow.

 

But you also wondered why you were talking to yourself, or whoever it was in your head—me, right that’s me.

 

You pulled yourself out of the vase that had gotten cracked in the process of your transformation moments ago, uprooting yourself to slowly walk towards the edge of the bridge just to look down. Down at who you abandoned…  _ the human. _

You expected to not see anyone there, and yet there they were… hanging for dear life, not even moving… as if their mind had given up but their body hadn’t just yet. And they called out earlier to themselves, while you struggled with the power of their soul…

How were they still alive with  _ no soul? _

 

You felt guilty, and also terrified. Guilty that they simply gave you their soul, terrified of repaying the favor. You didn’t want to die… and even with the soul in your possession, you couldn’t feel any sort of magical abilities. The power of RESET’s and SAVE’s weren’t with you even as you suppressed your transformation. You could feel everything; every emotion, every part of who they were… or who they used to be, at least. You even felt something within yourself when the soul radiated a feeling you had lost long ago, but were all too familiar with.

 

Love. You felt love. You felt how strongly they loved for you, unconditionally. Which was ridiculous, you two had only known eachother for as long as a week-- give or take a couple days perhaps?-- and yet the love you felt inside you was so strong and true.

Maybe it was because you were were alike in certain aspects. Maybe it was because you two shared so many moments together than neither of you had ever had with anyone else. Maybe it was--

 

“I don’t need you here…” You muttered in annoyance, but your body was trembling. And as much as you may not be interested in being read like a book, the main character’s gone.

 

Once again, you’ve become the only living thing in the Underground.

 

At least, it was suspected. But the human’s situation seemed unique as you once more scurried over and peeked down at them. They remained hanging still, silent and unmoving as if they had frozen in place.

 

“This is their fault, anyway.” You scoffed, pulling back once again and turning your attention to the flower vase. Your eyes inspected the cracks and lines that formed in natural shapes along the edges, but it was only to occupy your mind. You did your best to think of something else, to change the subject in a sense, but your mind would keep wandering back to the human… because you felt guilty.

 

_ “Do you hate me?”  _ You heard them suddenly call, their voice was different-- and yet it was still the same.

 

You wouldn’t blame them if they hated you, after all you’ve done to them. After everything you did. And look at what you’ve done  _ now _ … a typical villainous act that deserved no redemption.

“Why do you keep talking.” You groaned out.

They dared to ask if  _ you  _ hated  _ them _ , even though it was  _ you  _ who took their soul and left them down there out of the fear of dying. It was a logical fear, obviously no one wanted to die, or at least not many people wished for death on themselves. But deep in the pit of your stomach you realized that… maybe no one deserved it more than you did.

During that powerful moment when you had consumed their soul, you were able to feel something so strongly that it had almost been intoxicating. That one thing that every living thing must have, everyone with a soul, everyone with a mind; desire, need, hope… love…

 

_ Love? _

 

And you remembered hearing something roll through you like it was made of pure energy. It coursed through your veins, and during your battle against the Omega that strived to push out, you also found yourself feeling… human… and that split second you wondered if maybe things would be better off if you never existed in the first place—

 

But then you would have never met them, and none of this would have happened. There were two sides to every story, and this was yours.

 

That emptiness in your chest fluttered at the thought, and you grimaced. The L word, not  _ loser, _ but the other one. You knew after this, it would be a turning point to their story. Whether it was the end or the beginning, it was up to you to decide their fate. But either way, they had faith in you making the right decision, and you knew they did. Because they really… truly…  _ unconditionally  _ loved you.

“I’m not a coward.” You told yourself out loud as you carefully wobbled towards the edge of the bridge. You gazed down into the white abyss of light, staring at the human who was hanging on almost lifelessly. From here on out, whatever happened, you would accept everything as it came. This would be the end for you, whether it was an actual end or a new beginning, like you had told yourself seconds ago it was something that fate would decide for you.

Without a soul, they would simply be dead weight. Maybe their corpse was already getting stiff and that was the only reason they could hang on for so long? You honestly hoped that they weren’t dead, and without thinking you called down “Are you dead?!”

 

_ Idiot! _

 

There wasn’t a response though, which was perfectly fine for you—you were starting to get a little weirded out as you finally chose to climb yourself down. Letting your tendrils hook to one bundle of cords after the other, you carefully made it a bit above where they remained, and you let your vines wrap around their waist and arms. With a great heave, you pulled at them, pulling the human away from the wires that they gripped on. You made certain that they were fully lifted and secured, wrapping more tentacle-like vines around their form like a harness, before you began your climb. 

 

You climbed, holding onto them tightly but not tight enough to push out whatever air may still be in their lungs.

 

As you climbed your way up again, letting your roots work their plant magic, you felt something pull down at your vine rather strongly. You almost lost your balance, but looking down to see what had happened, no one was there. The human was still somewhat out of it, though they mumbled something under their breath every so often as you returned to climbing your way up. It wasn’t until you could see the edge of the bridge more clearly that the tugging had started again, and as much as you tried to ignore it, this time it chose not to be as you were practically yanked off of your grip against the wall and sent toppling down.

Snapping your head back, you see their body being pulled downward. Strange enough, it was by a force you couldn’t even see. But it was a strong enough pull to cause their body to finally come back to life, with a heavy gasp of breath as if they hadn’t been breathing this entire time. 

 

You can’t help but give them a smile—but their angered expression made your momentary happiness falter as they suddenly growled.

 

“We’re  **not** gonna die…!” Their eyes were almost menacing, reaching their arms upward they gripped your base stem tightly and pulled, yanking you and trying their best to literally make you let go of the wall. But you were so close! What was going on with them?!

“I’m trying to save you! You assclown!” You snapped back, coughing out from the pull as you did your best to cling to the wall of circuits.

You were forced to hang onto the human more tightly, the worry of crushing them in your vines didn’t seem to run through their own head as they continued with their intent to pull you down. You let out a startled noise as one of their pulls actually managed to make you loosen your hold on the wall, almost falling into the abyss below you. Their soul was safe and sound atop that bridge, so whoever was left in their place must have been an angry spirit of some sort.

Your adrenaline was pumping, forcing you to keep moving even though you were already worn out just from being so close to death down below. Every few moments they would gain more energy to pull and yank at you, and every so often they would mention their will to not die. Not just them, but they would say  _ ‘we’,  _ but they surely didn’t mean you and them… they meant them and  _ someone else. _

It wasn’t as if all this were intentional! It had all been a horrible accident that you were trying to fix, and they seemed so sure that if they were falling down, they would take you with them.

 

“I can’t… feel  **_anything_ ** **…!** ” The blurted out suddenly, a sob escaped quickly afterwards as you gritted your teeth and stared down at them. Their eyes welled with tears, but their brows were still furrowed and their gaze never fell away from yours. Their grip didn’t even loosen as their mind unfurled for you “I’m so  _ empty, _ Flowey…! So  _ empty because of you! _ ”

“You lunged at me earlier and I dodged you!” You retorted with a snap “Did you expect me to just let you tackle us both down here?! Whoever you are, you’re more psychotic than me—“

**“NEVER COMPARE ME TO YOU--!”** They pulled again, and you were finally pulled hard enough to let go. With a cry out, you both screamed as you fell, the edge of the bridge fading away as you took a level drop. With a panicked hitch, you gasped and tossed your vines forward again, a few wires and loose dirt from your body falling down into the void, but thankfully you didn’t.  And with said grip on the wall, you did your best to make sure the human’s neck didn’t snap from the quick recovery. Thankfully, all that happened was them banging their head against the cords. 

 

You curled your vines more tightly around them, this time also around their arms and legs to restrict their movement. They groaned in weak protest, but it was obvious the fall and head knock was so sudden that they were out of it again.

 

“Fucking Christ.” You mumbled, returning to your climb.

 

A part of you wondered if it was even worth saving them if they were now intent on killing you… but you had to keep reminding yourself that it wasn’t them—it was someone else. But who the hell decided to move in when their soul was thrown away?

 

“I’ve read every book…” You grunted, pulling the both of you closer and closer towards the edge of the bridge again “I’ve burned every book… but none of them could have prepared me… for  _ shit _ like this.” 

With a sigh you took a moment to recover your strength, your adrenaline rush had died down, and you were completely, and utterly, worn out.

 

_“What have you done to us, Flowey?”_ You heard them say. Looking down at them as they hung below you, encased in your tendrils to keep them from panicking again, you squinted your eyes at them for a bit before trying to ignore them as you returned to climbing. 

 

They repeated _“What have you done…?”_

 

You felt a tug.

 

“Not again…” You grimaced, glaring back down for a split second—only to realize there was no possible way for them to pull at you with their arms held down. They opened their mouth to speak, but suddenly the wires you had been gripping onto had been forced out, as if something were snapping them with scissors one by one beneath your vines. The weight of their body was getting heavier, and you could hear a voice telling you to simply let go. Because it would be easier, right? You’d be able to escape if you gave up on them and set yourself free—

“What do you want—“ You tried to ask the force, only to jolt as your plant form collapsed again. The human yelped from the drop, shuddering as you squeezed the breath out of them and tried to reach that bridges edge. All you had to do was climb yourselves up and you’d be away from the void, but everything was starting to stretch and pull. Your mind was playing tricks on you, your eyes tried to adjust to what they were staring at… the bridge waved and curled above you, and below you could’ve sworn the white void was taking the shape of a face.

 

You definitely knew who that was.

 

“You’re doing this…” They mumbled in confusion, staring downward in the same direction you were now looking as the void started to shift and contort “If you do anything to put… them in danger I’m gonna—“

 

“Why are you blaming every single thing on  _ me _ ?!” You growled as you clung to the wall, watching the face begin to rise from the depths of the blinding light. Your grip tightened as you furrowed your brows, looking past the human who was now thrashing about as a means of escape “I’m going to save you, whether you like it or not! Now fucking STOP MOVING AROUND SO MUCH!!”

 

The world seemed to start collapsing and shrinking around you, as if pressure was building and the gravity was beginning to grow heavier and heavier. Everything was starting to fade away, the void was sucking the both of you in, and the human looked back up towards you with wide and fearful eyes.

 

“How can I trust you after everything you’ve done…?” They dared to ask. As if their life depended on your choice of words as they stared up at you in wonder. It’s as if they honestly couldn’t choose between you or the void—as if they were willing to dive into the abyss just to get away from you in one false move. You had loosened your vines from around them, but you made sure to hold onto them as best as you could. You trusted that they wouldn’t snap and send you both falling any deeper towards the layers of the forgotten.

They persisted, even as they trusted you enough not to let go of them “All you’ve ever done was hurt them, over and over… and now we’re in this mess because of you…”

 

Technically it was their fault, but you sighed out your reply “Because even if it’s all my fault, they would’ve trusted me, too.”

 

The pressure was building, and you could tell that they were feeling it. They were starting to get slippery from how sweaty they were becoming, and the face within the void started to shift and morph into some sort of monstrosity. You knew you were hanging onto the bridge still, and yet the bridge was no longer there. Everything around you two had vanished completely, and the noise had transformed into simple static and emptiness. Like a broken television set.

You needed to get out of there.

You both did.

 

“Now trust me.” You said, as calmly as you possibly could. Their tear-filled eyes blinked up at you, finally accepting the silence between you both as you let the white void surround you.

 

Whether this was the end for you two, or a new beginning, you wouldn’t know until the next chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > This chapter was hella inspired by Marshmello’s song “Alone”, give it a spin if you wanna!  
> >I’d love to make a complete soundtrack/collection of songs that’ve inspired this fic, because whenever i heard a song that sounds even remotely relatable to this story I wind up on an inspiration rage and start writing. XD But I also don’t wanna kill peoples vibes if they might’ve felt other songs fit the mood better than the ones I choose XD  
> >that contest i was thinking about, i might save it for the end of this fic... at the moment i have a lot of 'freebie's' being saved up for the end of this story, as sort of a 'post end credits' finale special so to speak.
> 
> >This story became more popular and more appreciated than I honestly expected, and with that I figured maybe rewards are in order as "thank you for dealing with my obsession for a flower in a videogame" XD Bless yall for the kudos and comments!


	29. With A Message From Above

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is your safe place… your _soul._ This is where you go when your mind and body aren’t connected… where things are disconnected, and where things are whatever you want them to be as you slowly begin to… well… crumble and die out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >These perspective twists are killing me~ but I'm getting really excited all at the same time!  
> >EDIT:: Tags updated!

###  **Chapter Twenty-Nine:** ** _With_** **_A Message From Above_**

 

_ “̵̶̵̴̴̴̶W̷̶̵̷̸̸̷a̷̸̶̸̸̷̷k̶̵̴̷̴̴̶e̸̷̵̷̶̴̴ ̴̶̸̵̸̴̷u̴̵̵̵̸̷̸p̶̶̸̶̸̷̸…̵̵̷̸̶̶̴!̵̵̸̵̶̵̴”̵̵̴̸̸̷̸ _

 

                       “̸H̴e̸y̵…̶ ̴w̶a̵k̶e̸ ̶u̵p̴!̶”̸

 

...

 

_                                  W̸a̸k̷e̸ ̶u̶p̶.̵.̸.̴ _

 

They slowly opened their eyes, frowning at the blinding light that immediately flashed in their line of sight. Narrowing their gaze instead, they let out a weakened huff, feeling like they had literally been tossed around like a rag doll against rocks and knives. They could barely lift themselves up as their eyes attempted to adjust to their surroundings. It was when someone else touched them that they realized they weren’t exactly alone.

 

“̸C̵a̸n̵ ̷y̵o̷u̶ ̶s̸t̶a̴n̵d̷?̷”̷

 

They rolled their head, letting their neck stretch a bit to try and get themselves more comfortable. They felt completely sore, honestly the confusion as to what had happened to them felt more important than who was with them and where they wound up at… but they had to give their eyes a moment before even looking in the direction of the voice. When their eyes finally adjusted, they realized the blinding light had been peering through a large hole in the wall… a wall made out of rock and brick cemented together in disorderly clumps. The wall looked to be in disarray, as if built up in a rush. The human was dazed for a moment, simply staring at the wall as if inspecting it, before they blinked a few times and gave the rest of their area a look around. In their short-lived skim of their environment, they finally gazed towards the voice that had spoken earlier.

 

_ Frisk. _

 

The other human smiled gently when their eyes met “Hey, glad you made it fine.”

 

“I did?” They were still on the ground, completely inactive in not only facial expressions but actions as well. They didn’t try to stand, to turn or twist, to look surprised or shocked… they simply sat there as if everything were as casual as casual could be. The human stared up at the other human who stared down at them. Without anything else to be said between the both of them, Frisk knelt themselves downward a bit to carefully wrap an arm around their waist to help them stand to their feet. They almost fell back down again, but instead they found themselves falling into Frisk, who supported their weight and managed to keep them up “Well, you’re here, aren’t you? I’m guessing it’s because you made it. Even if just barely.”

“How did this happen?” They held their head, wiping the sweat off their brow. The weather felt surprisingly cool suddenly, as if there were a light chill in the air. And in a sense they felt almost ‘floaty’ and weightless, but heavy all at the same time. Everything felt almost like a dream, as if the world they were in wasn’t real “How did I get here?”

“If I knew, I would have told you.” Frisk said, simply helping them limp their way over towards the hole in the wall. It was safe to assume this was where the magical barrier used to be, and instead had been replaced by a makeshift barricade.

 

_ … why was there a barricade? _

_                        F̸̴̴̸̷̶̴̴̴̶̵̷̴̴̸̶̸̶̶̶̴̵̷̢̨̺̠̼̠̺̳̱̜̊̈̌̆̂̉͗̂̚͠ĺ̸̷̶̷̸̷̴̶̶̴̸̸̶̸̵̷̴̶̶̵̴̴̵̡̛̬̹̝͚̣̘̜̙̓̋̈́̍́͑̍͘͜o̸̵̸̶̸̸̵̵̵̶̷̷̴̸̸̷̵̸̸̶̸̸̴̡̫̲̣̥̗̟̗̭̪̍͑̋̃̅͊̎͠w̸̸̴̴̴̶̸̸̵̸̵̸̴̵̷̶̴̷̸̷̴̵̸̼̜̜̘͖̯̐̾̏͗̋̅̂̔͂̅͜͜͜ͅe̵̴̶̸̵̶̶̸̸̵̶̸̶̷̷̵̴̷̴̸̴̴̵̛͎̯̯̮̦͚͇͔̺̒̓͑̈̓̕̚͜͠͝y̷̷̴̴̶̷̵̵̶̶̵̶̵̶̶̷̴̵̵̷̷̷̶̢͈̟̟̳̻͎̲̮̑̉̀̒̃͗̇̽́͜͝!̷̷̴̶̷̵̵̴̴̵̶̸̵̵̸̶̸̴̵̴̵̴̸̢͉̺̹̞̺̟̙̜͓̀̔͋̉̎͒̀̌̊ _

_ You… couldn’t remember. _

 

“Let’s just get you out of here, alright? Take a few deep breaths…” Frisk was rather careful with them as they guided the other human out of the hole and to the other side. The sunset was almost blinding, it had been so long since they had seen the actual sun, they almost forgot what it looked like… what it felt like…

 

They felt… a sense of longing.

 

Turning their head a bit, they looked to Frisk, who stared off at the sunset as well. They both stood on an overlook, the cliff loomed over a land of forestry and plantlife that stretched as far as the eye could see. And far off in the distance was the bustling city they both had grown to love. A city cluttered with humans and monsters, equally sharing their hopes and dreams. The city had grown so much since when they were both little. Maybe moreso for Frisk than it did for the other. And for a minute, they were told that everything was perfect. If this were the end, then so be it.

 

F̸̴̴̸̷̶̴̴̴̶̵̷̴̴̸̶̸̶̶̶̴̵̷̢̨̺̠̼̠̺̳̱̜̊̈̌̆̂̉͗̂̚͠ĺ̸̷̶̷̸̷̴̶̶̴̸̸̶̸̵̷̴̶̶̵̴̴̵̡̛̬̹̝͚̣̘̜̙̓̋̈́̍́͑̍͘͜o̸̵̸̶̸̸̵̵̵̶̷̷̴̸̸̷̵̸̸̶̸̸̴̡̫̲̣̥̗̟̗̭̪̍͑̋̃̅͊̎͠w̸̸̴̴̴̶̸̸̵̸̵̸̴̵̷̶̴̷̸̷̴̵̸̼̜̜̘͖̯̐̾̏͗̋̅̂̔͂̅͜͜͜ͅe̵̴̶̸̵̶̶̸̸̵̶̸̶̷̷̵̴̷̴̸̴̴̵̛͎̯̯̮̦͚͇͔̺̒̓͑̈̓̕̚͜͠͝y̷̷̴̴̶̷̵̵̶̶̵̶̵̶̶̷̴̵̵̷̷̷̶̢͈̟̟̳̻͎̲̮̑̉̀̒̃͗̇̽́͜͝!̷̷̴̶̷̵̵̴̴̵̶̸̵̵̸̶̸̴̵̴̵̴̸̢͉̺̹̞̺̟̙̜͓̀̔͋̉̎͒̀̌̊

 

“I’m sorry…” The injured one managed to breathe out a weak chuckle, causing Frisk to give them a look of confusion before starting the trek with them down the hill of Mount Ebott, towards what looked to be Frisk’s car “For what? Nothing to be sorry about--”

“All this.” They admitted, shaking their head. 

They felt weak, and yet they also felt as if they would be able to walk just fine. The tiredness and soreness that they had felt moments ago when they first woke up had somehow vanished without a trace. 

 

Carefully, they pulled themselves away from Frisk to stand on their own, and just like that they were right. They stretched, they reached, and the two of them walked as normal people, side by side down the rough hills of Mount Ebott towards the dirt parking lot. “I shouldn’t have ignored your warnings… I shouldn’t of gone without permission.”

“Why did you go in the first place?” Frisk asked, the two of them making it to the car as Frisk unlocked it. They both then climbed in, with which the naive one shook their head again “I… can’t remember. I guess I just really wanted to explore. I was looking for something, maybe it was just knowledge? Maybe it was something else...”

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Frisk asked, starting up the car. And with a light sigh, the other human turned away and gazed out the window as the car drove off “I don’t know… I don’t even remember what I was looking for…”

“Hm.” Frisk didn’t say much during the drive back to town, they didn’t seem to have any more questions about the trip the human took to Mount Ebott. Frisk seemed surprisingly satisfied with the answers the other would give, though all they could really say in response was “Maybe listen to your soul, and it’ll tell you something.” Before the rest of the drive was completely silent between the two. 

And it was a surprisingly long drive-- then again the adventurer had only made the drive once, from what they could remember... and that was to get  _ to _ the mountain in the first place. It all felt rather surreal, almost as if everything were a dream. And the seat was surprisingly comfortable, then again they could barely remember having been driven around in Frisk’s car before. There were a few times that Frisk had maybe offered to give them rides to and from places, but they always used their own car because they were more comfortable with the familiar rather than a strangers car. But then again, that was one thing they suddenly recalled; it was their new outlook on life and how they perceived people in it. Frisk wasn’t just some  _ stranger _ . Frisk was a good friend, a great one at that. An amazing colleague and companion, a hero, someone that they admired ever since they watched them lead a parade of monsters to their freedom back when they were both little. There was some sadness in that memory of course, the sadness of Frisk not leading out any of the lost humans that had supposedly fallen as well… but no good deed goes unpunished, as the books say. To have something good happen, something bad must be the cause for needing that sweet ending.

 

And with these rambling thoughts spinning in the human's head, their eyes had grown heavy with the need to sleep. And in the end, they did.

 

But the ‘nap’ had started just as quickly as it had ended.

 

They opened their eyes and jolted from Frisk’s touch, who had been lightly shaking them awake on their side of the vehicle. 

Sometime while they were asleep, Frisk had parked the car and stepped out to walk around and wake them up. It was late at night already, the sun had long since set considering the stars speckled the sky like freckles on a face. The air had gotten more chilly, but it was a nice feeling compared to the heat of Hotland. They took a few moments to simply breathe in the new-found fresh air as they stared at Frisk like they had a bug on their face.

“Sorry to wake you.” Frisk noticed their eyes wandering up and over the sky, so they brought them back down to earth “We made it to Grillby’s, and I know you don’t usually like joining us… but everyone was really worried about you.”

“Really?” The sleepy human was suddenly more awake, looking at Frisk in confusion “But… I barely talk to anyone, they probably know as much about me as I do them-- which isn’t a lot, actually.”

“We’re all friends here.” Frisk said simply, stepping aside as the other finally unbuckled their belt and climbed out the car. Once they closed the door behind them, Frisk lead them towards the bar. “Just because you don’t open up, doesn’t mean anyone is going to hate you. We all care about one another because that’s what good people do… and hey, even if you don’t know much about them, and neither do they about you, doesn’t mean you can’t try, right?”

 

There was a brightly lit neon sign that read the bar title over the main entrance, flashing and blinking on and off above the door where a few patrons were already walking in and out, as if it were a busy night. Frisk continued “I know what it’s like… it’s hard to open up to people after dealing with a lot of… well,  _ crap. _ You’re so used to one type of  _ thing  _ that anything else feels abnormal or strange. But we shouldn’t judge everyone just because a few things happened… it’s wrong to assume everyone’s the same.”

 

_ “̵̶̷I̴̷̸ ̴̸̵d̷̵̸o̷̸̶n̴̸̶’̵̴̸t̴̷̷ ̷̶̵w̴̴̸a̵̶̵n̸̷̶n̸̵̴a̸̴̷ ̶̶̸l̷̶̴e̷̵̴a̸̸̸v̴̶̴e̴̷̴ ̶̸̷y̷̷̸o̸̵̴u̵̶̸ ̸̶̸h̸̶̶e̶̸̸r̷̷̵e̵̸̶…̴̸̸ ̵̷̴b̸̸̸u̴̶̷t̷̵̵ ̷̸̷I̴̷̵ ̸̸̸g̴̵̶o̶̸̵t̵̵̴t̶̶̵a̶̶̵,̴̴̵ ̶̶̴F̵̵̷l̵̷̴o̶̷̷w̵̴̵e̶̵̷y̶̶̵.̷̵̶ ̷̶̷P̷̷̴l̷̸̷e̶̴̸a̵̵̷s̸̵̴e̸̵̵ ̵̵̴b̸̸̷e̶̸̵l̵̵̶i̸̵̸e̶̶̴v̷̸̸e̵̸̷ ̶̵̶m̴̷̴e̵̷̵.̶̷̵”̷̴̵ _

_                                                        “̸̶̸Y̷̷̶o̵̸̴u̸̸̷ ̷̸̸d̴̴̷o̸̶̴n̸̸̸’̸̸̷t̸̵̷ ̶̷̶d̵̵̵e̷̵̵s̶̵̴e̸̵̷r̸̴̵v̷̷̵e̶̴̴ ̴̸̸t̵̶̸h̶̴̶i̴̵̷s̶̶̵!̷̶̵ ̸̵̵Y̸̶̸o̴̷̵u̵̶̷ ̶̴̵d̸̴̶o̵̶̶n̴̷̵’̸̸̸t̵̷̴ ̸̷̴d̸̶̷e̴̸̸s̵̶̵e̵̶̶r̴̴̵v̶̸̵e̷̷̶ ̷̴̴a̶̸̸n̷̵̷y̴̵̷ ̴̸̷o̷̶̶f̶̵̴ ̸̸̵t̸̵̶h̸̴̶i̸̷̷s̴̷̸!̸̸̶”̶̴̶ _

 

Frisk was right, they knew it.

 

At this rate, it was safe to assume they were always right because most often Frisk would prove them wrong without realizing it. Frisk wasn’t the type to rub mistakes in, or to seek vengeance or get jealous, they were a really neutral and level-headed person… so most often even after they proved themselves right they wouldn’t exactly care.

These thoughts of course were coming from the mind of someone who put Frisk on a pedestal ever since they first emerged from the Underground.

 

_ “̴̴̷͔̳̏̕B̷̷̶̠̪̔͋ṵ̷̶̷̬͌̕t̸̶̸̻͉́̚ ̶̶̸̥̮̋İ̸̵̴͚͉͌ ̸̵̵̩̱̍͠p̸̵̶̩͕̏̈́ṙ̵̷̸̛̹̠o̵̷̷̧̻̾̕m̴̴̷͔̣̿͊i̵̸̵̳̥̎̍s̷̷̸̩̼̀͊e̴̶̵̘̯̓d̴̶̵̨͕͆͠ ̷̵̶̥̳̓̕A̵̸̴͍̯͗̓s̸̶̵̜̱̈́̕r̵̴̴̭̖̈́̌i̷̴̶̡̜͝e̵̷̶͔̟͘͘l̷̸̸̘͉̒̈́-̸̵̸̢̰͊̄-̴̷̸͕͍͑ ̷̴̸̦̺̅̂Ĭ̷̷̷͖̗͠ ̵̵̸̦̘̽̆p̸̷̶͙̯̿͝r̷̴̶̢̜̄̍o̵̷̴͙͚͆͆m̸̴̷̡̩̒͛i̶̷̶͍̘̾̔š̶̵̵̰̺͝e̷̸̷͚͈͂͊d̸̷̵͔̮͊͘ ̸̸̴͉̻̉͝y̸̴̴̛͖̦͝ō̶̴̸̥͓̎u̶̵̶̽͛͜ͅ!̷̶̵̙̮̋͆ ̸̵̸̤̍͝ͅI̷̸̵̱͉̍̽ ̸̷̶̥̮̈́͂ḫ̷̷̷̯͌̔a̷̴̴̝̫͐͐v̸̸̵̨͖̈́̆é̶̴̶̡͉̕ ̷̸̴̺͈͊̃t̵̶̸͔͓̾̊ơ̴̴̵̻̞̓ ̸̶̶̪̦̾̈́k̴̸̸͚̼͋̉ȩ̶̴̶̼̔̈́ȅ̵̸̷̢̠͆p̵̴̸̩͈͊̒ ̵̷̸̙̗̅̅ë̴̴̶̜̟͠v̶̴̴̙̤͊ē̶̷̶̲͈͋ř̶̴̶̲̟͘y̷̶̸̨̬͒͘ö̶̶̸̜̦́̚n̵̶̸̻̠͊͐ȅ̵̸̴̯̘͝ ̷̵̴͇͖̃̈́s̷̸̶̨̛͖͋ả̶̸̴̭ͅf̶̶̷̹̺́͒ē̶̴̷̥̬̌ ̴̶̸̨͈̒͐f̴̵̷̞̳̈́̓r̸̶̶͎͚̓ō̵̷̷̥̹̏m̶̵̸̺̼̈̃ ̷̴̸͉̟́̆ṇ̶̸̵̥̉̃ȯ̴̶̶̘̞̇ẅ̵̸̶̨̯́͠ ̵̵̵̥͎͌̈ő̶̷̸̟̺̂n̶̷̵̪̮̚̕ ̷̵̵̟̰̀ā̵̵̴͉͚̆n̵̸̸̟͉͂̾d̶̴̴̹͊̎͜…̷̶̴͓̈́̉͜ ̶̴̷͙̻͆̇a̸̵̶̞̹̅̕n̵̸̶̡̢͐͝d̷̷̶̻̪̒͊ ̸̶̵̙̥̄̈́i̴̶̵̡̥͛̚f̷̵̷̡̫̾̂ ̴̶̴̤̻́͊y̷̵̷̲̻̐̚ö̷̸̴̗̞̒ư̸̷̵̡̘̊ ̸̸̶̝̬͒̋c̷̷̶̡̮̄̾ǎ̸̶̸̭͚n̸̷̶̫͖̈́̈’̷̵̵͓̠̋͘t̶̷̴̙͓͐̓ ̷̵̴̨͙̃͒ţ̶̸̷̓ͅȓ̸̶̶̡̰̊u̴̷̵̪̾͛͜ś̶̸̴̨̨͝t̶̵̸̟͈̃͂ ̵̵̷͓̙̀͋y̸̴̶̞̰̋o̸̴̶͙̣͛̆u̷̶̴̼͓̓͑ȓ̴̷̷̨ͅs̸̶̶͕̣̓̃ë̴̷̸̱͇́͌l̴̸̸̩̻̊̕f̷̷̶̞̹̃̐ ̸̵̶̼̳̆̉t̶̴̶̜̪͋͂h̸̴̶̗͓͑̌e̶̶̸͈̼͌̑n̶̸̵̖̥͐́ ̶̷̷̜̫̊h̸̷̸̹̜̔̔o̶̴̴̡̼͗͝w̶̵̴̡͇̉͐ ̷̶̴̗͓͋ċ̸̷̴̱̭̈́ǎ̶̷̴̯̩́ǹ̸̵̷͇͙͛ ̷̴̵͖̰͊I̸̷̷̻̙̓̆?̵̷̵̘̮̌͛”̵̶̸̥̗̾́ _

 

But Frisk was right… it was wrong of them to keep pushing people farther and farther away over an incident out of their control. What happened to their best friend all those years ago was simply a horrible chance of fate… and they would need to make friends eventually in order to get more social.

Frisk said all these people were worried about them, even without knowing them as well as Frisk had. The human didn’t even know  _ Frisk  _ that well, actually… other than ‘co worker and old college and school buddies’.

The Underground did change them… it was through loneliness that they realized they would need to get closer to people---

 

Loneliness… _wait…_

 

But they weren’t alone, were they? What happened?

                        F̸̴̴̸̷̶̴̴̴̶̵̷̴̴̸̶̸̶̶̶̴̵̷̢̨̺̠̼̠̺̳̱̜̊̈̌̆̂̉͗̂̚͠ĺ̸̷̶̷̸̷̴̶̶̴̸̸̶̸̵̷̴̶̶̵̴̴̵̡̛̬̹̝͚̣̘̜̙̓̋̈́̍́͑̍͘͜o̸̵̸̶̸̸̵̵̵̶̷̷̴̸̸̷̵̸̸̶̸̸̴̡̫̲̣̥̗̟̗̭̪̍͑̋̃̅͊̎͠w̸̸̴̴̴̶̸̸̵̸̵̸̴̵̷̶̴̷̸̷̴̵̸̼̜̜̘͖̯̐̾̏͗̋̅̂̔͂̅͜͜͜ͅe̵̴̶̸̵̶̶̸̸̵̶̸̶̷̷̵̴̷̴̸̴̴̵̛͎̯̯̮̦͚͇͔̺̒̓͑̈̓̕̚͜͠͝y̷̷̴̴̶̷̵̵̶̶̵̶̵̶̶̷̴̵̵̷̷̷̶̢͈̟̟̳̻͎̲̮̑̉̀̒̃͗̇̽́͜͝!̷̷̴̶̷̵̵̴̴̵̶̸̵̵̸̶̸̴̵̴̵̴̸̢͉̺̹̞̺̟̙̜͓̀̔͋̉̎͒̀̌̊

_                          “̷̼̑Ḯ̸̘’̸̱͠m̸͈͝ ̵̪̆s̶͔̈ŏ̷̢ ̷͖̈́ś̷͙õ̴̬r̶̿͜r̵̝̾ẏ̸̗…̶͕͠ ̷̥̊F̵̰̆l̸̥̕ơ̶ͅw̶̓ͅe̸̪̒ý̶̖…̴̻̉ ̸̬̋Å̷̬s̷͎͠ř̵͓i̷̮̚e̴̼͗l̵̦̉…̶̩̂ ̴͓̈́I̶̩̚’̶̬̊m̸̠̕ ̵͇̉s̴̳͊o̴̦͘ ̶̩̅ş̴͐ȍ̴̙r̵̼͘r̶͍̆ỵ̴̕!̷̬͊”̶̯̓ _

 

Frisk opened the doors for them to step inside, where they were immediately greeted by a large group of strangers. Everyone inside the bar was welcoming, warm smiles and warm hearts all around as humans and monsters alike held up whatever food or beverage was in their hand as if they were cheering or toasting to the return of the human from their long journey. Frisk was also the first to bee-line in the general direction of the bar after catching sight of their companions, however the other human took their sweet time in actually approaching.

The inside of the bar surprisingly looked as they had imagined it would. It had a rustic and classic look designed for it. There was a classic jukebox that played sounds that couldn’t be heard considering the bar was full of lively and chattering people. Monsters and humans alike all crowded around the main bar, where the owner and bartender, Grillby, shook and mixed drinks like no other. The ambiance was rather soothing, a bit nerve racking, but it was nice considering moments ago they had been trapped underground for who knows how long. They weren’t a fan of crowded places, but come to think of it, they weren’t a fan of total loneliness either. They weren’t a hermit by choice, they were a hermit because they felt it was  _ necessary _ . But in the end they knew they had to have a change of pace.

Even though Frisk headed straight towards the fire monster who was tossing drinks down the counter space, they turned back around to grab ahold of the other’s hand and yank them over towards the group of monster-folk.

 

“Fancy seein’ you here.” Sans was the first to comment on them making an actual appearance, probably knowing fully well that Frisk often invited them after work and they always declined and claimed to be busy. 

 

Truth be told, and something they all might have noticed, they weren’t ever busy after work. 

 

“Heard ya vanished for a week or two.”

“Has it really been that long?” They asked with a worried tone, though Sans simply shrugged his shoulders “I unno.” Before turning his attention away and back to Papyrus, the taller yet younger brother who was busy trying to discuss changing menu items for the bar. 

 

Sans and Papyrus dressed in colors that opposed each other, and yet matched their personalities all the same. Sans had a rather worn hoodie on, fully zipped up with his hood over his head to hide whatever he wore underneath. The hoodie was definitely bigger than himself, considering he was a tiny monster, but even his black sport shorts and pink fuzzy slippers seemed to be bigger than his own actual size. His hoodie was a faded blue, the hue of blue that probably looked more on the grayscale as if it could have been a brighter color once… but the cool color was, like mentioned before, a counterpart of the hot red that his younger yet taller bro Papyrus wore. Papyrus’ outfit looked almost like a heroic costume of sorts. A pristine and clean white chest plate with red designs adorned along the shoulders, waistline and neckline. And to match it he wore a pair of red speedos, complete with a red majestic scarf and red boots. Sans was the definition of lazy and _ chill _ and Papyrus opposed that with active and  _ hot. _

But tuning back into their conversation, the human could hear that the lanky skeleton sounded dead-set on getting spaghetti to be a dish on the menu.

 

_                                                      T̵̴̷̸̶̶̵̶̷̶̶̸̷̶̸̮̥̭̙͔̪̓̅̌̍͊̄Ỏ̵̴̶̵̴̸̴̸̸̶̶̷̶̴̷̡͙̠̮͍̬̈́̌̇͌͝ ̷̸̸̵̸̸̷̶̸̶̸̷̴̸̴̼̹̯̙̪͌͊̈́̑̓͆͜M̵̵̵̷̷̵̵̶̴̶̶̷̶̸̴̛̫̣̰͎̝͙̑̈́͐͒͝Y̶̷̵̸̸̸̵̸̴̴̷̶̸̴̶̢̢̺̠͔̱̐̾͊́͘ ̶̷̸̸̸̸̴̶̸̶̵̶̴̷̵̨̛̣̝̙͓̪̂͛̈̌͘D̴̷̴̸̶̵̸̷̶̸̷̶̸̸̴̤͍̺̳̦̬̎̈́̔́͊E̷̵̸̶̸̴̸̵̴̶̸̴̶̵̸̛̩͇̣̝͈̳̅̆̔͐Ą̶̴̷̷̵̵̸̴̷̵̵̵̷̴̶̭͍̯͎̼͐͆̇͆͋̑R̸̴̵̴̷̴̸̶̸̵̸̸̵̴̶̥̣̱̙͓̟̃̈́̉̄̔̚Ē̶̵̵̵̷̵̷̴̷̷̷̶̵̶̸͚͕͔̰̟̤̅̎̅̇̄S̵̷̵̸̸̵̸̴̸̴̷̵̷̷̶̨̖̻̗̦̰͐̃̒̆͘͝T̵̴̴̸̸̸̴̵̷̷̷̷̸̸̸̨͇̣̖̝̩̄̇͗̅͆̈́ ̸̷̴̵̴̵̵̷̶̶̵̸̵̴̷̧͔̖͖̼̹͗̍̾͆̐̀F̴̶̸̴̸̶̷̷̷̶̴̶̴̷̶͎͕̬̦̱̄̾̒̈́̔̚ͅL̶̴̸̸̵̴̸̴̵̶̶̵̵̵̸̠̜̘̦̲̟͂̐̿̀̒͘Ō̵̴̶̴̸̵̵̴̵̸̵̸̶̴̸̖̘͎͖̪͚̑̍̎͝͠W̷̸̸̵̵̸̴̴̵̷̴̷̶̵̷̖̺̫͔̳̼̓̑̓̅͘͝Ȩ̵̴̶̵̸̵̷̵̸̸̸̶̶̴̵̧͎̣̹̟̾͑͊̑̊R̷̵̵̸̴̵̶̸̶̵̶̴̵̵̵̨̭͇͚̰̻̈́͒̋̅͘͝ ̷̶̵̴̶̶̴̸̸̵̶̵̷̴̵͚̠̬̖̖͉̇̏͌̊̕͝F̸̶̶̷̶̷̶̵̶̸̶̶̷̶̶͉̝͍̤̼̲̈́̇͗͛̉Ŗ̷̸̵̶̴̴̵̷̶̴̶̷̶̴̵͉̦͍͍̜̿̏͂͒̉͗Ï̷̸̶̴̴̶̴̶̷̶̴̸̷̴̸̮̺̣̺̜͓̆͊͛Ë̵̵̸̷̸̸̷̸̶̷̷̷̴̵̴͙̫̩͕́̏̈́̒͜͜͝N̶̸̸̴̵̷̷̶̵̶̶̷̸̵̷̞̖̬̬̞̟̉̋̈̚͝D̸̶̷̸̶̸̷̷̷̵̵̴̵̸̶͕̺̟͎̪̜̈̍̑̂̚̚,̸̶̷̶̵̸̵̸̸̴̷̸̵̷̷̧̥̯̝͓̥̓͛̄͗̆͆ ̶̴̴̴̴̵̵̶̷̴̴̸̷̴̶̢̨̢̳͎̜̃̆͌͒̈́͘T̵̷̴̶̵̵̸̴̴̸̸̴̶̵̵̲̖̥̲̗̖̍̊́̈́̂̕H̴̶̸̷̴̶̸̵̵̶̶̶̷̴̶̪͎̙̞̫̹͑̌̍̓͛̓E̶̴̵̶̷̶̵̶̴̸̶̵̴̵̸̡̜̥̻̹̖̎͂̒̌̉͊ ̸̴̶̷̴̷̷̷̷̷̴̴̸̵̷̛̳̣̲̺̗̙͗̊́̾͝F̴̴̷̴̴̷̶̸̸̶̶̷̶̸̸̖̟̪̜̜̦͋̒̌̃͊͂L̶̴̴̸̶̷̵̴̶̴̶̴̷̵̸͉͈̲̖͙̞̐̀̒̈͑̄O̴̸̷̵̵̸̴̷̷̸̵̶̸̷̵̡̹̖̻̺͛́̍͊́͌ͅW̵̴̵̶̸̶̷̵̴̶̵̵̵̵̶̟̱̗̮̤̄̔͂̄͋͝ͅE̷̸̶̴̶̸̸̸̶̴̸̶̵̵̷̹̤̞̦̦̽̐̑̍̚̚ͅY̸̵̶̸̷̷̶̷̸̸̷̴̵̷̸̧̮̣͍̯̳̑̒̋̾͝ ̶̵̷̷̵̶̵̵̴̸̶̷̴̵̶̡̮͉̗̹̗͂͆̏̂̀̅F̶̴̴̴̸̷̸̴̴̵̷̵̶̶̸̣̬̯̠͚͓̑̈́̑͂͘̚A̴̶̵̶̴̴̸̵̶̸̴̶̵̵̴̤̜͙̭̳͓͊̿̏̏͘͝Ņ̷̶̶̵̵̶̷̸̶̶̴̷̵̴̶̛͍̳͙̠͊͐̄̎̓ͅ ̷̸̴̴̴̵̵̸̵̷̵̷̶̵̸̭͙͙͕̻̯̅͒́͂̄͒C̸̴̴̶̴̵̸̷̴̷̵̸̵̴̴͕͓͈̟̯̰̒̅̽̅͒L̶̶̷̴̷̸̷̵̵̸̴̶̸̴̴̨̼̝̣̻̠̄͂̌̔͘͠U̷̷̶̵̵̸̶̶̶̸̵̸̸̶̷͚̦̗͔̮̝̓͐̽̐̈́Ḇ̸̶̴̵̷̷̴̶̷̸̴̴̸̵̴̼̩͎͖̹̋̅͗̈̄̌ ̶̵̷̷̵̴̸̴̷̸̶̵̴̵̶̡̠͓͚͚̉̌̑͂͜I̵̶̷̸̵̵̸̴̴̷̵̵̶̷̶̛͔͙̫̭̪͑̏͒̍͗ͅS̷̵̶̴̷̷̵̸̶̵̸̷̶̸̷͕̫̗̭͓̭̏̿͋̔̀̾ ̸̴̴̸̸̶̴̶̸̸̶̸̸̶̵̡̦̙̞̠̊̑͛͝ͅŞ̵̵̷̸̷̴̶̸̷̶̵̸̸̴̴̧̧̖̞̱̑̾̍̏̅͝T̴̸̸̵̵̵̶̴̸̷̶̵̸̸̴̟̤̪̫͈͉̃̉̍̂̂͂İ̴̸̸̸̴̵̶̷̵̸̶̷̵̷̴̦̲̼̠̗̀͛̂̌̊ͅL̵̶̴̸̵̵̸̷̷̶̵̷̶̸̵̢̝̻̠̼͉͆͗̈́̈͑͘Ļ̷̴̶̶̶̴̵̷̵̷̶̵̶̷̶̞͇̝̖̹̂̈́̎͒͘ ̴̶̶̵̷̴̶̵̷̵̴̴̵̵̶̢̬͈͕̞͇̊̌̀̏̓̕Ř̵̵̷̶̵̴̴̴̸̷̵̵̷̸̷̗̩̘͓̮̤̊̔̊͝͝Ǔ̵̴̶̶̵̸̶̶̶̴̴̶̴̵̷̙̹̥̪̻̹̋̓͛͆̋N̶̶̵̸̸̴̷̸̶̷̸̴̷̷̷̡̢̥̟̺̳͊̃̀̓̑̍N̸̵̴̷̸̶̸̴̸̷̶̸̶̵̸͚̱͔̗̻̰̅̌̅͋̚Į̵̵̷̸̵̴̶̴̷̷̵̸̵̷̷̼͔̳̗͇̈́̌̿͘Ñ̵̴̴̸̵̴̴̸̵̷̴̷̷̴̶̥̪̻̜̮̭̅̌́̕Ģ̵̴̷̴̶̸̴̴̶̸̶̷̴̸̴͉͇̟̩͆̽̾̄͗͋ͅ ̴̸̵̵̸̴̴̴̶̸̷̷̴̴̶̲͓̟̝̝̃̀͌̾̏͋ͅT̸̷̸̶̴̵̷̸̸̵̵̸̴̶̷̟͈͙̺̠̀̅͒͛͠ͅỌ̸̷̶̷̴̴̵̸̸̵̸̵̶̸̵̪̥̖̠̼̉́̈́̄̚ ̷̸̶̷̵̵̶̵̶̵̸̴̶̵̷̠̘̤͔̰̼̎̊̈́͆͝͝T̵̶̸̶̸̶̴̴̷̶̶̶̵̴̵̨̘̞͕͇̾͑͊͒͆̾͜H̶̴̵̵̷̸̶̸̵̵̴̸̸̷̵̜̲̫̳̳̬̀̑͌̅͑̋I̴̶̸̸̴̴̴̸̵̶̶̵̴̸̸͉̥̻̭͍̎̀̍͐͘ͅṢ̸̴̶̶̵̴̶̷̴̴̸̸̵̴̵̫̲̯̫͔͂͂̈́̄͠͠ ̷̸̶̵̴̸̸̸̶̶̷̵̸̷̸̫̜͉͓̹͚̍̈̂̔̿D̸̵̷̸̶̴̸̷̶̴̷̷̶̴̷̥͎̼̞̞̊̊̉̈́̅̿ͅĄ̷̸̶̶̵̶̵̶̷̶̸̶̴̴̵̧̤̹̞̒͋̅̀̆̑ͅY̴̸̸̵̵̷̷̸̵̴̸̵̷̴̵̨͉̪͖͖̯͆̔̑̚͘͝,̷̶̴̴̷̸̸̸̸̵̷̴̸̴̨̢̱͚̹͚̑̌̃̿̂̂... _

 

There came that floaty feeling again, like they could drift away on accident at any given time.

They tried to push the feeling away, maybe it was just their nerves with being around so many people. Frisk kept ahold of their hand as they then showed them off to the others. 

 

Alphys, the familiar reptilian dino seemed pleased at seeing them. Even her girlfriend Undyne, who scared them rather greatly, gave the human a sharp-toothy grin “FINALLY! Welcome to Grillby’s for once!”

 

“Thanks…” They said timidly. 

 

Undyne and Alphys had been sitting on stools by the bar, however Undyne seemed obligated to lift up from her seat and give the human her spot. They didn’t question it as they sat themselves down next to Alphys. 

Alphys was yellow, short and stocky, but she had definitely dressed in clothing that seemed typical and expected of her, from the last few times the human had seen her around the city or at her lab. She wore what looked to be some comfy plain sneakers, however they were decorated in brightly colored stickers that naturally matched her yellow and pink striped knee high socks. She had denim shorts on that, to be honest, the human felt fit her wonderfully, as well as a loosely fitted white short-sleeved shirt with pink sleeves; it was a graphic t-shirt of her favorite anime Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. 

They never got around to asking Frisk how Alphys and Undyne came to be, other than their mutual love for manga and anime alike. But Undyne wasn’t dressed anything even closely like Alphys was. 

Undyne wore a tight fitted black tank top with tight leather pants and boots that looked ready to kick someone’s face in-- violently. There were literal spikes covering the toe and heel of said boots, and Undyne even had a studded eyepatch and studded cufflinks to match. She had a leather jacket with her, but she had wrapped it around her waist. The woman’s flaming red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and as if noticing the human skimming over Alphys and her equally, she decided to flaunt her love by leaning down to Alphys and placing a quick kiss on her head.

Alphys blushed hotly, letting out a giggly snort in the process of the affection. Undyne the entire time had given the starring human a sly smirk. It was an implication to probably stop starring, so they quickly did just that and scanned the bar instead.

 

Looking around the rest of the building from their newfound booth seat, they realized Asgore and Toriel weren’t around, but it was safe to assume it might not’ve been their cup of tea.

 

A monster bash with Papyrus, Frisk, Sans, Alphys, and Undyne… it didn’t seem too shabby, actually.

 

“We are so glad you could FINALLY make it!” Papyrus roughly patted their back, causing them to almost smack into the counter. Frisk took the seat on the opposite end of the bar, having taken advantage of Papyrus standing up just to approach the new human available. From the corner of their eye, they could see Frisk and Sans talking to one another, however Papyrus was quick to block their view as he asked “What on earth were you doing down there, anyway? It’s DANGEROUS!”

 

_ Was it really? How come?  _

 

They shook their head thoughtfully “I don’t know why it’s dangerous… I can barely remember making it to the exit to meet with Frisk. I just sort of… woke up, and Frisk was there… already ready to carry me out. I know I had a reason for going, Frisk asked me too earlier but… I just can’t seem to remember. I think I went in wanting to get something out of it all… but I wound up wanting something else. Maybe I just--”

 

“Maybe you needed a drink.”

 

They turned their head and Frisk was already back by their side. They gave the other human a rather gentle and warm smile, before patting their shoulder and letting out a light laugh “Talking to yourself isn’t healthy. Though I do hear that it keeps people from going insane.”

 

They looked towards P̶a̵p̵y̵r̷u̷s̴-̵-̷ ̴b̵u̸t̷ ̷h̴e̸ ̴   w̸̴̵̾̓a̵̵̵̐̉s̷̷̷̕͝n̸̶̴̎̓’̸̷̵̀̂ẗ̴̴̴̛ ̴̵̵͂̈ t̵̴̶h̷̷̸͊ȅ̸̴̴͛r̶̵̸͐͘ē̴̷̵͝ ̴̵̵̐̈́a̴̵̵͐͋ñ̸̸̴̄y̴̴̸͑͗m̶̴̶̒͗o̶̵̸͊͘r̷̸̸̛e̵̶̴͛̇.̵̸̷͝

 

“I don’t know if I’m feeling well enough to drink…” They admitted and touched their head, turning their body back towards the bar to allow Frisk to order them all rounds of beverages. Frisk shook their head slightly as they all watched Grillby begin to shake and mix a thing or two for everyone “It won’t be anything strong. I know you have a lot to deal with right now, so the last thing I want is for you to get wasted.” 

They weren’t much of a drinker, and when they were drinking, it was only because their main goal was to get drunk and have a one night stand-- which it had been awhile since they fooled around with anyone to relieve any sort of sexual stress. Alcohol of all kinds were too strong for them, the only drinks they could actually enjoy were the fruity kind, but they wouldn’t drink them casually. Alcohol, in general, was a social drink and not something they’d order alone. It was a simple rule of thumb for them.

Frisk ordered them a pink fizzy looking drink, served in a cool beer mug. The drink looked almost thick, but at the same time it bubbled and popped almost like sparkling water. Giving it a small and slow sip, it tasted like nothing at all. It didn’t even taste like water, or juice, or beer… the only thing they could relate it to was air. But after another long sip of the drink, suddenly it was gaining a flavor-- pink lemonade?

 

“S-so you like anime, huh?” Alphys smiled at them as they drank away. Every time they would set it down, it would magically fill back up to the brim. But they didn’t exactly question it, ever since they had left the Underground they found a lot of weird things happening around them, let alone to them, so they shrugged it off as they paid more attention to Alphys “Uh, yeah but I don’t have a specific type right now. Stuff that deals with fantasy and monsters is something, though.”

“Maybe we can… uh... w-watch something together in my lab, sometime!” Alphys grinned. The human gave a warm smile in return “Sure, I’d love that actually. To be honest, I think ever since I found out you were into anime and stuff, I’ve really wanted to be your friend.”

 

Sans was gone.

 

“A-aha! Really?” Alphys chirped rather cutely at this, smiling at them and blushing deeply “I-I know the uh… last time Frisk got you to try and hang out with us… um… you bumped into me and Undyne w-watching some pretty… uh--”

“Oh yeah.” The reminder made both of them blush deeply, the human rubbed the back of their neck as they looked away and down at their drink “That was a real eye opener though. I mean, I’m sorta into that stuff actually-- I’ll admit it looked really weird at first but to be honest I didn’t mind it either. I like someone who’s actually--”

 

“You like someone?”

 

They lifted their head to look towards Alphys, who was suddenly giving a wide grin to them at the revealed secret “Who do you like?”

 

“Uh…” They paused then “I don’t… did I say something?”

 

Alphys’ smile faded then, before she tilted her head “Do you not remember?”

_         “...a̸̸̶͈̗͑̈́ǹ̵̶̶̦̞̐d̴̷̶͖͉͒̚ ̴̴̴͈̞̾̇i̷̷̷͙̮̚͘n̴̸̸̛̠̹̚j̷̶̵͇̜͒̂e̵̷̵͕̘͑̂c̴̵̷̼̚͜͠t̵̵̴̡̤̊̑ẽ̶̸̷͓̤͆d̴̷̴̗̰͛̈́ ̸̷̶̮̤̏̕i̶̸̴̧̗͗̉t̴̵̷͍̮̽̎ ̸̷̸̨̭̊̐ị̶̸̵̛̠̒n̵̴̵̖̦̓̈́t̴̷̴͔̫̕͘ȏ̶̷̴͔͇̿ ̶̸̵̡͉͋ţ̵̴̴̒̚͜ḧ̷̷̶͖͇͝ĩ̸̸̴̭͙͘s̷̴̷̪̣̄͌ ̸̴̴͕̣̾͂f̶̵̶͔̲͌͘l̶̵̴͉̘͛̽ǫ̸̸̴̖̅̈w̶̷̵̢̪̔̕e̴̵̶̢͂̅ͅṛ̸̸̵͋͆ͅ…̵̶̶̧̦͆͝ ̷̴̸̰̭͆̅a̸̵̴͓͐͆͜n̶̷̴̜̹̈̓d̵̴̸̪͈̂ ̶̵̸͙̈́̓͜t̶̵̸̢̗͋̀h̸̴̸̫̥̀̆e̶̶̵̪͇͑̚n̴̷̶̫̠̏̍,̴̸̴̱͖̇͂ ̵̵̵͚͔̽͆o̴̵̶̤̳̒́n̵̵̶̺͍̾͑e̴̸̴͇̣͆̆ ̷̷̴̡̳̐̌d̸̴̵̫̟̊́a̴̶̵̦͕͒͠r̴̵̴͍̻̔̕k̶̵̸͙̰͒̄ ̶̵̴̻̟̾͌d̷̷̸̟̟͌̉ả̷̴̶͙̝̿y̵̸̶̦͂̊ͅ,̵̷̸͖͉͝ ̶̷̸͚͇̑̕I̸̸̸̳̝͂ ̵̵̸̨̛̣̈ẘ̸̶̸͎̰̔o̶̸̷̲̎̒ͅk̷̸̴̫̫̃͠e̶̷̸̦̜͊̉ ̶̷̵̼͎̌̈ǘ̵̷̵̧̪̚p̴̴̷͇͉͊̽.̷̶̵̼̩̃̏”̶̷̷͇͔͆͊ _

 

The human frowned, looking back at their drink quickly as Frisk touched their shoulder “There’s someone I want you to meet…”

They drank all of their mug finally, turning their head and noticing the bar had gone completely empty. Time sure did fly by, Grillby was even cleaning around the place as if it were closing time. They had figured it was a twenty-four hour joint, but it was expected that Grillby would want a break too, and can’t really expect others to want to work all day every day either. From how busy it had been just moments ago(or was that hours?), they figured Grillby would have been rolling in the money if he had made it open for that long.

 

“Who is it?” They finally asked, leaving their mug sitting on the counter as they stood from the stool.

 

The lively ambiance of the bar had turned quiet thanks to it being emptied. And they couldn’t remember when everyone had decided to up and leave so suddenly, it felt as if they had just got there, and was just getting settled in and comfortable. But it also felt as if it had been hours since they had arrived with Frisk to meet with the others. Time was suddenly strange, but maybe it was expected since they had just come from underground… where a few minutes to an hour wound up being a day or two.

“You’ll see, he’s outside waiting for us.” Frisk commented as they gestured towards the door, before making their way towards it. The other human followed almost timidly, suddenly the world around them was surreal as they started walking closer and closer to the door. There was something odd about everything, something that they couldn’t pinpoint because their head was too fuzzy and their thoughts were all over the place.

 

And as if to toy with them, it felt like they would never reach the bar entrance. As if they were suddenly transported into a long hallway, like they were stuck on a record that had been overly scratched and continuously repeated the same line again and again. They were passing a few juke boxes, they were skimming past tables and chairs, and the bar door just continued being out of their reach.

“Frisk--“ The human reached for their friends hand, but stumbled forward instead. Frisk had suddenly vanished without a trace, and was nowhere to be found. 

 

The warm lighting of the bar had been switched off, the jukebox music went silent as power had been shut down and left them in an almost cold world. Like a kid left behind at a mall after closing time, something that could have been a fun idea at one point turned immediately sour and sent shivers down their spine. They continued onward, trying to reach the front door as it continued to try and keep out of reach.

_              Ǐ̴̵̷̵̴̴̴̷̵̻̺͈͋’̷̷̸̸̷̴̵̷̴͎̱͈͛̈̊ļ̶̵̸̵̸̶̸̷̵̫̺̈́̓l̸̸̷̷̴̸̴̷̷̰̥̮͒͆͒ ̷̸̷̸̶̴̶̶̸̼̞̼̇̑͂n̷̷̷̴̶̸̵̵̵̬̱̞͑̐͘ë̷̵̵̴̴̸̵̵̸̥̬͈́̓v̶̴̷̷̸̶̴̸̶̡͍̈̇̅͜e̷̵̵̴̶̶̴̴̶̖̦̎͝͝ͅr̵̷̵̸̴̷̷̷̶̭̗̔̑̇͜ ̶̶̵̴̴̶̵̶̶̝̯̒̌ͅb̷̷̸̷̸̶̶̴̸̯͉̹̓̿̇ę̵̶̷̷̶̶̷̸̸̜̻̃̓͠ ̷̵̴̴̸̵̶̴̷̘̣̰͊̇͘h̵̸̶̴̷̴̶̶̷̞͉̳͊̊̓i̴̷̴̸̵̷̶̶̷̗̜̻̇̔̓m̷̶̴̷̵̴̴̴̸̢͎̱̆͘!̵̵̸̵̴̵̷̵̸̧̡̧̛̄̆ _

They finally grasped the door handle with a smile, pushing it open to reveal the Grillby’s parking lot. 

 

Frisk’s car was nowhere to be found either, and running up to where the vehicle had once been parked it didn’t do much good. The human stomped around the parking space, unsure about where Frisk might have drove off to while they were in a weird endless loop inside the building, but eventually someone had cleared their throat and caused the other to turn around to face the bar once more.

 

The cool night air picked up a rather quick breeze then, causing them to shiver from the sudden chill. Their hair whipped across their face, but once it was brushed out of their eyes they spotted a  _ really  _ tall figure approaching. Almost looming at a height near Papyrus’, the figure wore a rather plain purple t-shirt and some surprisingly wrinkle-free denim jeans. But they didn’t wear any shoes… their feet were like paws.

 

_ “Howdy!” _

 

His voice rang rather cheerfully, and suddenly the human’s mind practically expanded from the greeting. The monster before them looked very much like Asgore and Toriel, recognizably so, to a point where the human definitely figured it must have been their child. Fully grown at well over the six-foot range, he had two long horns that protruded outward from his forehead and curled upward; not as large as Asgore’s, but not as short as Toriel’s. The plain purple shirt he wore seemed brighter suddenly, and the jeans suddenly dimmer. As if the human took on a whole new perspective just from the comparison of the monster to the other goat residents they were more familiar with.

They had to fully approach him in order to get a sure answer though, and they even dared to reach up and touch a hand against his cheek. Their eyes were a deep and almost brownish red, and as they continued to inspect the stranger, letting their fingers brush over the man’s fuzzy cheek… the faintest touch caused the monster to get nervous and pull back a bit, the fur along their face flushed a soft pink, the true redness hidden behind their white coat “Uh… what are you doing?”

 

“Who are you?” They ignored the monsters comment as they continued their inspection. Even without being allowed to touch him, they continued to let their eyes roam up and down his frame.

 

“Asriel.” He said simply, almost shyly as he took ahold of their hands to keep them from wandering around his form. The human was surprised from the gesture, but almost as if meeting someone they had known for quite awhile, they gave Asriel’s hands a squeeze of acceptance. This was far too strange... they swore they had never met him before, and yet his presence felt very familiar.

 

“Frisk wanted us to meet—well, I wanted to see you. Something seems to be bothering you.”

 

Like an absence of something, like maybe they had met someone  _ similar _ … but not fully the same. Someone different, but barely alike.

“But we already know each other… I’m sure of it.” They paused as their hold on the monster’s hands loosened. Deep in thought, they tore their gaze away from Asriel, who cocked his head to the side slightly in confusion from their words “Huh?”

“Weren’t we together?” The human asked then, and Asriel cleared his throat “H-what?”

“Underground.” They clarified and asked, slowly growing more confused and less sure of themselves. They pulled away from Asriel then, though the young male seemed intrigued and pushed forward instead “What happened underground?”

 

Their head started to ache, that floaty feeling returned. As if the cool breeze that had picked up would sweep them away any moment, the human struggled to keep their footing. Asriel seemed to take note of this, and once again grabbed for their hand. He muttered “̴D̵o̷n̷’̷t̶ ̸g̷e̶t̶ ̴l̶o̶s̵t̵,̶ ̸o̸k̴a̷y̶?̴”̸ Before carefully pulling them closer. They felt more ‘down to earth’ with Asriel’s hold and words, and just like that the floaty feeling lifted. With a small smile, they grabbed for Asriel’s other hand. The two seemed to let out soft laughs towards one another, the silence between them was filled with happiness.

There was some sort of understanding with him. As if he were someone that could complete them. Maybe that was it? With him here, the human felt like a part of them had been discovered. They had gone on far too long feeling a sense of neutrality with the world, a melancholic life where they couldn’t trust anyone because someone they once loved vanished. Even if it was out of their control, it still hurt-- but g̴̯̑e̶͎̽n̸̩̕e̴͕̽ŕ̶͖â̶̰l̷͓͆i̸̲͒z̴̜̈́i̶͚͝n̶̡̅ḡ̶͖ ̸͔̈́ẽ̵̗ṽ̶̝ë̵̘r̷͔̚y̴̼̚o̷͓̍n̶͕̿e̸͙̔ ̷͑͜a̴͕͠ṉ̶̅d̵͇̽ ̴͎̈́ȅ̵͔v̶͙̈́e̵͇͊r̴̞͐ý̴̜t̷̬͌h̵̳͘i̶͚͠ṋ̴̆g̸͉͗ ̵̻̍b̷̲͋a̸̦̚s̸̺̉ë̶ͅd̴̺̿ ̴̼͛o̵̝͌f̸̮̄f̴̭͠ ̵̣͒ȍ̴̧f̸͈͋ ̵̮͝o̵͚͝n̴̟e̴̟͊ ̴͍͆t̴̟́h̵͍͒i̷̪̾n̷̫͒g̸͙͠ ̴̨͆h̵͔͘a̸̘͒p̷̮p̷ͅe̶̗̋n̵͕͌i̶̡̍n̵̒ͅg̵̖͠ ̴̬̓t̷̢͛o̸̤͂ ̸̪͌t̸̖͐h̷̗͛e̵̘̕ḿ̴̹ ̸̬̐w̴̯̐a̸̢̿s̶̢.̴̎ͅ.̸͙͒.̶̜̆s̴̞͛o̴̥̒m̶̤͘e̶̹͝t̶̼̓h̵̯͊i̴̠̅ṅ̸̳g̸̯̿ ̵̫̍ṭ̶͛h̸͎͆e̴̘̕ ̸̞̽b̵̞͛ọ̸͋ț̵͘h̶̜͒ ̵̼̃o̵̗͂f̷̹̋ ̸̲͑ẗ̶̥́h̷̭͑e̴̦͒m̶̦͌ ̶̧͝r̶̪͗ē̴͈ḻ̸a̷̪t̸̟͋e̵̮̓d̶͚́ ̶̺̆t̷̬̀ǒ̶͓.̵͙͋

 

It must have been Asriel that they had bonded with. It had to have been. Who else but the lost prince?

 

“I can’t remember.” The human smiled and said, rather simply as if whatever happened in the Underground didn’t matter anymore. But, a part of them felt like it did. It  _ did  _ matter… and yet they couldn’t remember anything other than waking up to Frisk helping them out.

“That’s why I’m here.” Asriel said, now guiding them out of the parking lot into the empty street “I’m here to help you.”

“With what?” They asked dumbly. The monster didn’t let go as they reached the middle of the street. Abandoned and practically dark, the dimly lit street lights didn’t exactly help with brightening up the place. It looked terrifyingly abandoned, as if no one had been around in years. Asriel answered just as dumbly then “With remembering.”

 

                “̷Y̵o̶u̴ ̷n̶e̴e̶d̷ ̶t̸o̷ ̷r̷e̴m̴e̶m̷b̴e̴r̷,̸ ̶i̶t̴’̴s̶ ̵i̷m̷p̴o̷r̸t̴a̷n̶t̷.̶”̷

                                                               “̴D̵o̷n̷’̷t̶ ̸g̷e̶t̶ ̴l̶o̶s̵t̵,̶ ̸o̸k̴a̷y̶?̴”̸

“I’m not lost.” 

 

The human felt like they were about to break. 

 

Hearing a sudden truck horn, they turned their head with Asriel as the two spotted the large vehicle looming closer. From the far off distance, it looked as if it were driving rather slowly in their direction. But the speed of things were often times deceived by the eyes, and even they knew that it was probably traveling a lot faster than what was seen.

“Why are you here, then?” Asriel dared to ask. His grip on them tightened, as they looked back at him away from the truck “What do you mean? I just got out!”

“What happened underground?” Asriel asked like he had done before. The repetitive questions were starting to get to them. They wanted to break away, suddenly they were rather scared of Asriel. His grip had tightened on their hands though, keeping them both planted in the middle of the street as the truck started looming closer. It was like the truck  _ saw _ them standing there, and instead of slowing down or stopping it sped up, as if  _ wanting _ to run them over dead. And the human wasn’t sure what to do or say to make him let go, because all they wanted was to be free from everything. They never asked for any of this to happen! They never asked for their trip to the Underground to turn from one day to a week! They never asked to have met—

“Who did you meet?” Asriel asked almost calmly, though his brows furrowed almost in disinterest towards the human that now struggled to get out of his grip.  _ “Focus!” _

 

**“Just let me die!”** They suddenly shouted, their breath hitching as if shocked from what had escaped them. The human blinked away the few tears that had accumulated in their eyes, but before they could react again, they were flung on the ground and the truck hit them.

 

It was hard. It was fast. But it was quick… and that floaty feeling returned. 

 

The whole world had burst into light, like fireworks everything flickered… a bulb bursting from not being able to handle the wattage. The lights flickered and glimmered, before freckling off into the dark that surrounded them. And for a moment, they felt that loneliness again. The loneliness of being stuck in a place unfamiliar and scary. They let out a faint gasp as they gathered themselves and stood up from the ground that was basically nonexistent. Looking around, the city was gone and all that remained was themselves in a dark space.

 

“I’m not trying to  _ ruin _ anything. And I know you don’t mean what you say.”

 

“I know you don’t want to die. Don't be so dramatic.”

 

His voice echoed in the dark, but soon enough he appeared beside them to take ahold of their hands again. As much as they wanted to let go, they tried their best to trust in him, and simply returned the reassured squeeze they received. 

 

“I don’t know what you want…” The human said, rather meekly suddenly. Their body trembled. Were they dead? Were they alive? How were they both still standing if they had been hit by that truck?

“Take it slow.” Asriel said, almost calmly as if soothing the human from their worries “It must be nice… it must be way easier to leave everything behind like this. It’s always easier to fade away but the good thing about you is that… well, you keep going even when the odds are against you.”

They smiled at his words, lowering their head down to the ground, only to find that the street had returned. 

 

Blinking in confusion, they lifted their head and looked around. It was daylight again, the bustling city moved about as if anything that might have happened to them was all in their head. Asriel guided them out of the street and onto the busy sidewalk, where people walked around them and even gave them looks of annoyance from being in their way.

“It’s determination.” The goat monster commented “It drives you, and even when you want to give up, it keeps you going. Like now.”

There were so many things running through the human’s brain at that moment. They were so confused, and there was a mixture of torment and heartache, of happiness and excitement, that they could feel their soul racing in their chest wanting to burst out of it’s cage—their  _ soul. _

 

The soul they thought they had lost… the soul that—

 

“You gave it to Flowey for safe keeping.” Asriel answered their thoughts, and the realization hit them. 

 

That they weren’t rescued from the Underground. They were still there. 

 

The human’s mouth was agape as they darted their head around at the world they thought they were living in. The people that had once gave angry looks at the two for being in the way of their daily routine were suddenly walking right through them, as if Asriel and the human were nothing more than 3D projections.

 

“I don’t mean to bring you discomfort.” Asriel pulled them once more, and suddenly the two were at an all too familiar apartment. The room looked just as it had been left, maybe even more cleaner than what they remembered. The comfortable abode was small but cozy, perfect for a party of one or two. Asriel finally let go of their hands to get himself settled on the bed. The memories that flooded into the human’s mind became all too real, and it was hard to push out of the reality they had settled in, the one that surrounded them “What’s happening?”

“Maybe in the back of your head, you thought that it would have been nice to meet me… if I had ever gotten the chance to grow up.” The goat monster commented rather coolly, choosing a relaxed pose to take on against the bedsheets “Maybe you thought that I would be the best person for you in this situation, which is weird because I’m a total stranger to you—“

“What do you mean by all that?” The human asked as they inspected the apartment room. Their bedroom, specifically. They were checking if anything was out of place, if anything looked off or strange—and yet they could literally find nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked in order, everything looked perfect—maybe the fact that it was all  _ too  _ perfect should have caught their eye, but it all seemed so natural “How can I be here if… I’m not? Am I just imagining things? How can I be alive if I’m… soulless?”

They knew it now, they remembered everything clearly. The fall into the Underground. Meeting Flowey, starting a journey to the end with him… and then the plummet into the void that lead to the human making a quick reaction of sending their soul out for the flower-being to protect. But in that moment they felt their mind slip away, the world around them faded… and they could have sworn they fell down into the void with no way of coming back… only to wake up to Frisk having saved them and carried them off to… whatever this was…  _ dreamland? _

“There’s someone else whose conserving your body… but you’re not in it.” Asriel confirmed “This is your safe place… your  _ soul _ . This is where you go when your mind and body aren’t connected… where things are disconnected, and where things are whatever you want them to be as you slowly begin to… well… crumble and die out.”

“Die out?!” The human whipped their head to face Asriel, who had left the bed long ago and was now inspecting a shelf of DVD’s “What do you mean by  _ die out?! _ ”

“Human souls last longer than monsters outside the body, for sure.” The goat said, just as the man pulled out one DVD in particular “But obviously they last much longer when being contained in a vessel. And even moreso when the soul is determined to keep going. But to be determined to keep going, the soul has to realize that it stopped. And right now, you’re at a standstill because you’re still here, in your little world.” Asriel took a moment to then comment on the DVD of choice, showing it to the human who was suddenly all too familiar with it “Tentacles from Outer Space?”

 

“SCI-FI ORIGINAL!” They snapped forward and yanked it out of his hands, who shrugged casually and returned to sitting at the edge of the bed “I’m only telling you everything you already know… in a weird way, I’m  _ you _ . I’m literally a reconstruct of your imagination. I’m a part of this world, but you made me to try and keep you ‘grounded’.”

 

“Why you?” They asked then, giving up on the inspection of their own ‘dream home’, and even going as far as tossing the DVD anywhere on the floor before joining Asriel on the bed “No offense, but if I don’t know you whatsoever… why would I ask for you to be my  _ guide _ ? Why not Frisk?”

Asriel’s eyes slanted a bit as he gave them a small smirk “Maybe because I’m a bit connected to someone you like. You think that maybe I was a nicer version of  _ Flowey. _ ”

And almost too easily, the human’s face flushed “But… I know that you and Flowey aren’t the same person. Maybe sharing similar memories… but he’s his own person just as you are—were.”

 

“Maybe a part of you still thinks that life would be easier without him being a soulless plant?”

 

“I don’t think it.” The human admitted, sulking suddenly “I know it. I know everything would be easier if he could just react and feel things as normal but that isn’t the case. And I…” They couldn’t deny it, not after everything they had been through and what they had done before they wound up in a place such as this “That makes sense… I love Flowey. I love him a whole lot and I wound up loving him even without him having a soul and... It wasn’t expected, but we connected… we can relate to each other, and I trust him completely in taking good care of me.”

 

Asriel said some inaudible words suddenly, and the both of them looked confused. The human asked “What was that?”

 

“I… can’t say?” He sounded just as concerned and weirded out as they did, suddenly he was timid once again as the two looked at one another in wonder. Asriel finished gently “There’s a part of you blocked away… but… you need to focus on getting out. Right now, you’re so sure that Flowey’s going to protect you and take care of your soul… but he needs your help.”

 

“How can I help?” Another dumb question. Asriel scoffs “Get out of here.”

 

“But how?” They huffed in annoyance now “You keep saying that. I remember everything finally, and I know this is all fake… but how do I break back into reality?”

 

As they turned their head away to look around the room, a quick gust of wind managed to find its way in. Without an open window, they weren’t sure where it had come from. The human let out a small noise, turning to Asriel who slowly began to fade away. 

The young man they never knew began to disappear, and he simply smiled “I wish we could have met someday. Follow your heart and follow your soul. D̷o̶n̷’̶t̸ ̴k̴i̸l̶l̷…̶ ̸a̷n̵d̸ ̵d̵o̷n̸’̶t̶ ̸b̷e̴ ̵k̶i̵l̴l̵e̶d̵-̵-̸” 

 

Before long, he was gone. Dispersed into thin air, and swept away by the unknown breeze. And they were left alone.

 

There was a sudden shake of the room. Even though the furniture and objects in the square-shaped dwelling were practically superglued in place just for this occasion, the human was not as their body wobbled in a failed attempt at keeping their footing. They fumbled for a bit before finding themselves falling to their hands and knees, trying to keep from rolling around as the world practically tilted. But after the strange earthquake had finally subsided in what felt like a few minutes, there was a sudden yelling that could be heard. As if it were close by, but also off in the distance… it sounded almost like two giants or gods bickering back and forth, having a majestic argument in the skies of Mount Olympus or something. It was definitely a fight, but their words were muffled as if the two beings were screaming with pillows over their faces. One voice in particular, as it boomed like thunder, sounded somewhat unfamiliar, and yet familiar all the same… while the other one was most definitely recognizable… in fact, it almost sounded like…

 

And with the reminder, the human’s mind snapped the pieces into place.

_ Flowey! _

 

“I got to get out of here…!” They breathed out heavily. Their apartment room was so inviting, it was a soothing sight after having been away for so long. Suppressing the urge to fall into temptation, they begin their hunt for the exit. Knocking things off the bookshelves, tipping over their shelf of DVD’s, they went to their computer as it showed multiple pop-up’s of a familiar yellow flower. The flower on the screen danced with each pop up that cluttered the human’s desktop, and without thinking, they muttered an apology before dragging the monitor off the desk and onto the floor, letting it smash into bits. The electricity surged and flickered for a moment, before black smoke plumed out delicately. It didn’t smell like anything, however. It was all just an appearance…

With a heavy sigh and a few grunts while they trashed their room, after a while the only thing they hadn’t gotten to was their bed. Their clothes then became apparent on their form—a cream colored sweatshirt with some dark grey shorts—only because the human started to roll up their sleeves as if preparing to use everything they had in this last and, hopefully, final action. They had to break away. Whatever had taken over their body, whoever it was… they were trying to steal their soul from Flowey. Like Asriel had said, Flowey was fighting to protect them and he could only do so much.

 

“I have to cling to the real world, or my soul will die…” They let their fingers grip the edges of the bed frame “So I can’t stay here for much longer.”

 

Using as much strength as they had to flip the bed over, with a heavy grunt they tossed it up against the wall, knocking over a few knick-knacks and revealing the emptiness underneath. No carpeting, no hard flooring, as if an abyss of digital parasites had eaten their way through to reveal a universe on the other side. It was darkness… it was light… it was grey… but either way within it was a veil of mystery and horror, of happiness and excitement. Like a barrier between worlds, the human had managed to find a way to break through. They were trapped within their soul, and they had to find their way back to their body.

 

“I have to jump.” They told themselves, nervously staring into yet another void.

 

But what stopped them from just staying? Remaining comfortable in a dream world built all on their own? They could do whatever they wanted here. They didn’t  _ have _ to go back to a Flowey who struggled so hard with emotions that he would go as far as killing the ones he cared about. They didn’t  _ have  _ to go back to a world where they were stuck doing desk work and not allowed to travel where they wished. They didn’t  _ have _ to deal with all the hard work of befriending people, because here those people could  _ just be their friends. _ What was so wrong about staying in a dream world?

 

With a turn of their head, the computer monitor managed a faint flicker before revealing a surprisingly adorable portrait of the human with Flowey. Smiling, laughing, as if they were—

 

So what stopped them from just staying?

 

With a heavy huff, the human lunged into the abyss.


	30. When Push Comes To Shove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...But a word of advice _weed;_ just know that if you truly care for someone, your job is to protect them… not hurt them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Chapters... begin getting longer after this point. This is the make it or break it part of the story.  
> > We're reaching the end game...  
> > This is where forever ago I told yall there's an approximate 35 chapters total? Well, what's gonna happen is either these next/last chapters will either be super long, or I'll start cutting them in half. I'm not sure yet though. We'll see! :O
> 
> >EDIT:: Jesus christ we hit the 9k hit mark and 590 kudos, if I could twerk for yall I would

###  **Chapter Thirty:** ** _When Push Comes To Shove_**

 

_ “Snap out of it!” _

 

_ “Who are you?!” _

 

_ “I’m not gonna hurt you again…!” _

 

The plummet felt odd. The sensations tingled all over. A deep dive into the wind that granted a path between dreams and reality, of desires and truths… and it all lead to this very moment. As the darkness cleared its way to make room for the true universe that all were bound to by fate, it was then that the soul began to shimmer and shine.

The colors of the soul radiated-- fluctuating between multiple colors and gradients. It sparkled like a diamond but glowed like a flashlight at the end of a dark tunnel. It shined to make itself be noticed. And the fighting, for a moment, had stopped. There wasn’t anything else to be said when the soul took the stage and no longer felt forced to float one way or the other, to choose between lovers and friends. As if gaining a mind of its own, it guided itself towards its destination.

 

You only hoped they were doing the right thing.

 

“Dammit…” You grunted, wiping a petal with a thin vine as you took that moment to move yourself away from the human. They started almost trance-like at the soul that slowly loomed closer towards them, reaching out with their hands carefully in a cupping motion to cradle the darned thing.

You were a bit worried about that, considering you were the one entrusted with the soul and not the-- whatever demon had replaced their body… but it couldn’t be helped. Maybe there was another plan in store than you permanently keeping the soul for yourself.

 

Maybe you wouldn’t be the main character for much longer.

 

You averted your eyes from the soul and human, looking off of the bridge and down into the glowing white light of the void. You had a need to literally fling yourself off onto the light in hopes of time moving faster, but reminding yourself that  _ ‘No Flowey, you dumb fuck. That’s not how shit works.’ _ kept you from doing so. But looking back to them, you noticed the human wasn’t immediately taking the soul back. As if simply listening for something, or looking for a sign of sorts, they squinted their eyes and curled their head down as they vacantly gazed at the soul. But it was in that moment that they also gave you a quick glance.

The look in their almost  _ dead _ eyes made you shudder. A look that you found comforting once, until the realization that it wasn’t a look from  _ them _ , more so that it was a look from someone else entirely. Their judgmental gaze made your stem chilled, but it wasn’t anything you hadn’t handled before. But the reminder that you didn’t have much time… you took a moment to clear your head.

 

The scene was starting to change, you had to push your role aside.

 

“Okay.” You told yourself, lowering your head and letting your petals curl up around your features. You remembered meditation, you reminded yourself about how… every now and then… it actually would help you focus on yourself and not the world around you. The strange world of stories and characters that you lived in. Of videogames… of multiple realities…

 

 

And we took a moment…

And then--

* * *

\--you broke through to me.

 

Patience… justice… kindness… perseverance… bravery…  _ integrity and determination…  _ every single thing that made up who you are felt bound to come back to me; like a yo-yo on a string.

 

Whether it was because you needed your body back, or whether it was for other reasons, it was then that you realized you could be anything you wanted to be. All because you had the determination to do it. Your soul was one with you, and you harnessed skills that others either envied or you yourself never knew you had. You believed that you had finally made complete and total peace with yourself…

 

Well, all except for one thing.

 

The young girl gave a bright smile.

Her skin dark like chocolate, her hair in two curly pig tails on either side of her head. Blue ribbons held them together that matched her sequined ballet uniform as she stood before you in the first position of dance. And she looked at you with admiration and hope, she looked to her best friend with happiness. And in this childish form, you recognized me all too easily. I could feel you breaking just from the sheer sight of me, the memories that you had pushed aside… the memories that you held onto. It was me, your best friend.

 

“I was worried about you.” I admitted with a little laugh, shifting my pose to second position as you looked around in the darkness almost in confusion.

It was hard to tell where we actually were, even I could never explain what destination we were transported to. We were in a total and absolute dark, however there were far worse places than this, and things could have ended horribly in another instance of time and story-lines. But in this darkness, all we could see was each other.

 

“I was worried because when you tossed your soul out, you gave it to a sociopath.”

 

You gave me a somewhat bewildered look, but I only gave you a nervous smile as I shifted my feet carefully into the third position. It was difficult, because I haven’t been able to do this in a long time… but I managed “He hasn’t done anything yet, but it was hard to get you back from him. Who knew what he would’ve done to you.”

You continued to stand there silently, watching my movements as I let my arms flow like water. I took a few simple breaths, trying to relax myself; my body, my mind. Everything around me was at peace. I felt calm again, unlike before I wasn’t so angry or upset. I felt… okay.

But I could feel you getting upset over something. Maybe it was something I said? Maybe it was something I was doing? You stared at me in confusion, that confused and weird look that you had no idea what was happening.

 

With a quick snap of my fingers, an image of your glowing soul appeared before you. You flinched at the flickering heart-shaped light, but recognizing it, you settled and leaned in as if looking to inspect it more closely.

“So long as you’re true to yourself, it doesn’t matter what happens.” I said gently, now trying to shift my posture into fourth position “Be true to  _ you _ , don’t lie to yourself anymore. It makes you just as bad as the weed-head.” I smirked slightly, almost losing my footing and position, but managing to keep it on point with a bit of wobbling.

 

“Everything I’ve done up to this point, I’ve done it for you.” I tried to defend myself suddenly. For some reason, your silent gaze was making me nervous. Even with your eyes occupied on the picture of the multi-soul before you, the fact that you weren’t even talking made me wonder if… maybe I was being judged as much as you were “I’ve been trying to guide you. I wasn’t trying to cause anything like  _ this  _ to happen… it’s not my fault I just-- I just wanted you to keep moving forward. I didn’t want you distracted from the main goal—which I just… I just thought the goal was to get out alive… but now…”

_ “I didn’t want to make friends with anyone because I already lost the bestest friend I could ever have...” _

 

Watching your body shrink from your adult size to the size of a child, it felt all too familiar as we both stared at each other. Both of us now the same height, the same age, in the same moment I would regret forever.

Far away from the small town we grew up in, far away from the people who didn’t understand what we loved and yearned for. Adventure, exploring, a world of monsters and magic. We stood face to face right at the starting path that lead up Mt. Ebott, where you began to cry “How am I supposed to make friends with people if all they’re gonna do is leave me?! How am I s’posed to love people if they’re all gonna die…?!”

“Nothing lasts forever… and no one lives forever.” I tried, though your sniveling and hiccupping was starting to get to me. I did my best to be strong for the both of us, but even I was beginning to tear up “We used to think that monsters were immortal right? Remember? But we read that they just live a long  _ long  _ time.”

 

You didn’t calm down.

 

“Life isn’t easy, nothing just gets handed to us… to you…” I hurried forward, reaching out to comfort you as you covered your face with your hands and sobbed into your palms “You fight for everything, you fight for your life like you’ve always done, but if they mean the world to you… fight for others too. You fight for them as much as you fought the entire time you’ve been down here… like--”

I paused, hesitating to mention it… but it couldn’t be helped “You fight like you’ve fought for Flowey.”

Your child-like eyes blinked away tears as you finally looked up to face me fully, my small fingers wiped your tears away before I wiped them on my uniform “But I need you to be strong. This was never about me. This had always been about you, and it always will be. You have to really want something, and you wanted this… this all started because you had a goal in mind. You wanted to be more than a desk worker. You wanted more than sitting around researching and interviewing people. You wanted to go out there and see the world, right? And now you know after all this time, you also want more than anything to be  _ happy. _ ”

You gave a weak nod, and I give you a small smile in hopes of it being contagious. It was, you quickly smiled back so I continued “You learned a lot, and you’ve come a long way. In that happiness of yours you want friendship and family. You want love, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So just do it.”

 

With that said, I turn my attention up the steep hillside of Mount Ebott, the sun peaked overhead and shimmered down imaginary rays of warm light through the forestry and plant wildlife that had grown far more since that fateful day. You were scared, I could tell from your trembling tiny form as I took and held your hand. You knew very well that you didn’t want to lose me again, but this was all I had become… a living memory of someone that should have been freed a long time ago.

“I’m the supporting cast of your play.” I clarify with a squeeze of your hand. You look to me with a frown, but you return the gentle touch as I finish “This isn’t my story. This is  _ yours _ . And… after this, we probably won’t ever be face to face like this again. And…” I swallowed “When you  _ do  _ leave the Underground… we won’t be able to talk like this again either.”

With that, there was a sudden silence as the scenery surrounding us had changed. Everything began to shift and fade away, dissolving like sand as if the façade that you held onto the moment you saw me again after so many years… had finally been broken. Reality hit you hard, and you grew back up to your adult self but still held onto the child-like me who now had to stare up at you as you broke down again. And I know. I know it must have been hard to realize that things wouldn’t stay like this forever. It’s  _ so hard _ having to accept things as they are, as they come, and as they go… it’s difficult having to live with the realities of past mistakes. But they weren’t burdens for you to carry anymore.

 

I made my decision long ago, and you had to make yours.

 

“I can finally find peace in knowing that you’ve matured and just broke through your walls to make friends and to be happy, put your anxieties and fears aside to try and let people in and… that truly makes me happy. You may not hear me… you may not see me… but I’ll  _ always  _ be with you, okay? I can promise you that.”

 

You quickly bent down for a hug, wrapping your large arms around me tightly. It was crazy having the mind and age of an adult but still being stuck in the body of a little kid. I felt so silly returning the hug like a child would their parent.

The reminder that I missed my family… the reminder that I missed my mom and dad, and how they would push me to dance but also worry if I worked too hard. My dance instructor who told me to work on my endurance and leg strength exercises. My older sister who made my dance outfits for me. I even missed the bullies at school whose asses I would have to kick to keep you from being picked on…

 

And you I would miss the most.

 

These sudden reminders as we hugged and held each other hit  _ hard. _ I wanted more than anything to cry in your hug but I knew I had to be the strength for the both of us. You’ve gone through so much, and I had to return the favor.

 

Your story was almost over.

 

“I love you  _ so _ much.” I managed to breathe out, the hug was still going strong as you held onto me as if I were literally dying all over again. But you had other places to be, you had other things to do, so I carefully let go with a quick kiss to your cheek “You’ll always be my best friend, okay? That’ll never change.”

“I love you too.” You managed with a weak smile as well, allowing yourself to pull back and look at me just as you had remembered me. Your eyes were as red as your nose, but you didn’t bother wiping your tears away “I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you, either.”

“You better not.” I snorted, before slowly t̶a̴k̴i̶n̸g̸ ̸i̴n̵ ̷a̴ ̷d̴e̴e̵p̷ ̵b̶r̷e̷a̷t̷h̶ ̶a̶n̶d̵ ̴f̵u̵l̶l̶y̶ ̶̵̴͍̝͒͋p̵̷̶̳̖͑̊u̸̸̶̩͇̍̕l̷̸̸͇̟̉̈́l̴̵̷̨͖͛͌i̶̶̴̭̭̓̐n̴̴̵͉̦̆͒g̵̴̶̛͇̦̾ ̷̶̷̫̘̋̕ǎ̷̸̴̙̥͆w̵̴̷̼͋͠ͅa̴̷̸̠͍͛̇y̶̶̸͔͋͜ ̸̵̴̙̺̑͘f̶̶̷̘͌̈́͜r̶̴̵̮̪̀̿o̶̶̴̖̰̍͘m̴̶̴̢̦̽̑ ̵̶̸̹̰̅͘y̸̸̶̨̰͘͠ǒ̶̷̸̮̝̌u̶̵̵̢̼̓̌.̸̷̵̢͙̒́

 

̸̳͆I̸̴̸̛̱̝̿ ̷̴̵͉͚͐͝l̶̴̸̟̗͑̽ë̷̵̵̯͕́̎t̸̴̸͈̘̉ ̶̷̵͉̭͛̊ỳ̴̷̴͇̟͑ō̴̶̸̱͎̈ǚ̷̶̵̲̖r̶̴̴̥̈́̽ͅ ̶̸̵̩̬̋̓ḙ̸̷̶̯̾̓y̵̵̵̲̟͒͊ê̶̷̷͖̬̕s̵̸̶̪̺̅ ̵̶̶̨̭̆o̶̸̵̭̞̽p̸̷̵̮̦̄͊ẻ̸̸̷̞̮̋n̷̵̷͍͍̋͂ ̸̶̵̙͇͋́a̷̵̸͔̹͛̆s̸̵̷̱̺̐̿ ̶I̷ ̶r̶e̵f̴o̷c̵u̷s̶e̵d̸ ̶o̶n̵ ̵t̵h̴e̷ ̸r̸e̸a̶l̷ ̴w̶o̷r̸l̷d̴.̶

 

It felt like it had been just you and me for a good few hours, and yet who knew how much time had passed since we began our talk. Your soul was still gently hovering within your hands, just barely gracing your fingertips as I reminded myself that I had to take your soul back in for you to be given full control of your body once more. However, when I took notice of the weed still standing at the edge of the bridge, a tick sort of went off again.

 

“You didn’t jump yet?” I asked with a smile.

 

Flowey didn’t seem to react in any way or form though, his petals were curled around his face almost protectively, and he was as still as death. As much as I wanted to do something about that, suddenly I was forced to lie down on the floor, back against the cold metal bridge as your eyes were fixated on the ceiling of the Core as if stargazing. I was somewhat bewildered by this sudden action, but before I could say anything, your soul fluttered and shimmered before me, as if your very being was beginning to yell at me to stop in my tracks.

It was like I was being scolded by my dad for dancing too hard.

 

_ “You have to promise me to leave Flowey alone!” _

Oh god, I had totally forgotten you were head over heels for a sociopath.

 

“Look, when we talked about you finally moving forward to open up, get friends and fall in love and live life…” I sighed romantically at the thought of you finding your happy ending, however my face(well,  _ your  _ face) contorted to that of disgust at the sheer thought of said happy ending including a murderous tyrant “I didn’t mean for it to have anything to do with  _ Flowey _ .”

_ “Please…”  _ You were practically whining at me as your soul shuddered then, a vibrant purple glow shined brightly  _ “I love him.” _

There were so many things that could be said then. So many things that I wanted to say but, knowing fully well it wasn’t my business, I held myself back. It was a love all  _ too  _ real, I felt it within you so many times throughout this journey you faced with him. It was something stronger than the love two best friends shared, and it even pounded harder than the love or loss of letting an old friend go. Maybe it was denial that I was feeling… not wanting anything bad to happen to you. Maybe it was jealousy, because as much as I told you to move on and be happy, it hurt that with you moving on I would soon vanish without a trace. But the reminder of what I had told you not too long ago was something hard to swallow, but it had to be done.

I told you I would always be with you, didn’t I? And just because I didn’t get the chance to grow up, didn’t mean I couldn’t let you do it.

I let out the heaviest, and loudest, most over dramatic sigh in the history of the universe, before nodding lightly “I promise I won’t kick his ass too hard I guess.”

The soul shined cyan then, flickering like a sparkly sequin tutu. The implications were all there, and I knew you appreciated it. But even after that, your soul didn’t budge. It didn’t hover any closer, it remained afloat and still as if hesitant. And I commented “What’s wrong now?”

 

_ “I want you two to work things out.” _

 

If I were drinking something I would’ve spat it out all over you. But all I could do was choke on your tongue which, the thought in itself was creepy as hell “Excuse me?”

 

_ “You’re the closest thing to family that I have other than Frisk…” _ You said straight through your soul as you finally started to float yourself. However it wasn’t closer to me, in fact it was farther from me and closer towards Flowey’s still and sleeping form. Whether he was actually sleeping or not I honestly couldn’t tell, it didn’t matter to me as much as it mattered to you probably. But the farther you floated away from me, the focus began to shift. I felt my mind waver as the director role was beginning to fluctuate away from me again.

 

“Dammit I—“

* * *

 

“—don’t want to talk to that shit head.”

 

You woke up with a start. Wow, that actually worked?

Meditation was something that was quite soothing. You hadn’t practiced as often as you really should, but it helped you tune out the world for even just a moment sometimes. And it was during those stressful reminders back in the Ruins where you would try to do some relaxation techniques in hopes of calming the ever growing… well,  _ loneliness _ that liked to loom itself in from time to time.

With a quick whip of your head, the sudden shock at how close the multi-soul was to you almost made you jump off the bridge. The fact that you continuously kept thinking about leaping from said heights made me question your suicidal tendencies, but suddenly your startled reaction had calmed into that of true affliction. A tiny vine stretched out to carefully grace the glowing soul, and you couldn’t help but give a nervous smile “Is it you?”

The touch in itself sent a wave of emotions through you, causing your vines and roots, tendrils and all to curl just slightly out of reaction to the sudden burst of affection you felt for them, and they obviously felt for you.

_ “Hi.”  _ They responded almost dully, and yet there was something about the soul beating like a drum that made your smile all the more wider. The familiar presence of them had returned, the loneliness you had felt in the Ruins felt like ages ago compared to the week long journey(or more) you had been through with the very being that floated ever so close. They were so willing to show their soul to you, they were so willing to share something so fragile and important… without a worry in the world. And thankfully, the soul was sentient again… everything about it felt more like  _ someone _ rather than  _ something. _

You wanted them so  _ badly  _ but… at the same time, you knew they were yours.

 

However the emotion you felt haltered at the realization that behind the soul resided their body. A body occupied by someone who was now standing there with the most impatient and heavily pissed off look you could ever imagine. You had seen them angry before, but this time it felt different... because you knew damn well it wasn’t necessarily  _ them. _

 

“They want me to have a word with you.” The human stated, now walking closer to you and the soul before quickly flopping themselves down in a pretzel seated position on the bridge flooring. The fact that they were even getting comfortable made you cringe, but the soul remained still as well, expectantly hoping for some sort of agreement or truce.

 

Noticing that their eyes were a bright shade of blue, almost glowing as if it were an otherworldly power, you started to piece a few things together. “You’re not…” You began, but you weren’t sure what to say as you moved closer to them as well. You flinched slightly when they raised an arm, but once you noticed it was just to shrug and let their elbow rest on their knee, you continued “There’s another soul inside you.”

 

“I need to lay down some change.” The human ignored you and prepped their own lecture, their eyes never falling from yours and their brows furrowed to their ‘pissed off’ look again “I can’t pretend like what had happened never happened. You betrayed them, and that very soul that wants us to talk and make amends? There was a moment of fear, a moment of heartbreak and a moment of  _ ‘My life is suddenly shit’ _ when you decided to ditch their ass at the edge of the Void.”

 

You opened your mouth to speak, but the hand that you had feared a few moments ago quickly shot out, taking the form of a palm to keep you from talking. To confirm this, they quickly mumbled  _ “Shut the fuck up and listen.” _ Forcing you to close your mouth again as they proceeded “Without who I am, if I wasn’t sharing a body with them… if I wasn’t here, they would have died. You would  _ not _ have been given this chance to talk to them again. Because they were willing to toss their soul away to  _ you _ , even after  _ you _ were willing to ditch  _ them _ just to save yourself. They  _ literally _ gave you their  _ life _ Flowey!”

 

“Are you saying everyone can just be completely fearless from death?!” You finally pushed your own voice in, vines just instinctively spreading out from your tendrils and snapping out thorns like switchblades. As much as you were so ready to snap the neck of this  _ imposter _ , they meant something to the one you cared about… and the soul remained at bay as if trusting the both of you to not kill one another.

Your vines audibly cracked and snapped like bubbling oil, as you carefully pulled them away from the human. They hadn’t even flinched from your weapons arising at them, as if they knew damned well you wouldn’t do shit to them “I was… scared! I admit it! But I admitted it then, too! I know that’s a shitty excuse but I can’t reset like I used to! I can’t turn back time or wake up in a bed like nothing ever happened! What was I supposed to do if we both wound up dying?! What was I--”

 

“Do you  **REALLY** think I’d let  **EITHER** of you die?!”

 

Their voice boomed over yours, causing your words to get swallowed down as the human had lifted up somewhat from their relaxed seated position just to talk down better at you. Having raised up onto their knees, they curled their body over your tiny flower form that seemed to be shrinking by the second “I may hate your guts and morals but I won’t let anyone actually… fucking  **DIE!** Unlike  **SOME PEOPLE** who  **MURDER** the ones they  **LOVE!** Over and over again!”

You were speechless. Even if you had something to say, you weren’t sure you would be able to. The human shoved you slightly, rather roughly at that, but it was just to put some space between you both as they stood up to their feet more fully again “I honestly have a hard time figuring out what they see in you.”

Maybe they were blind? Maybe they saw nothing at all.

Your whole form started shaking. It was that overwhelming sensation… that overwhelming rush of emotions again. Emotions out of your control as your mind raced around grasping and pulling at everything. Recollections, realizations, assembling the puzzle of their being. A multi-colored soul that also harnessed what… an individual integrity soul as well as the natural determination of a human being. This angry being before you was the one… the entire time. You knew that Frisk had no way of saving them from death because Frisk didn’t know what was happening Underground, but someone else  _ had _ to have been Underground with you both... and they had to have some sort of power--

 

“I can’t SAVE anyone, I can’t create SAVE points or anything like that…” They interrupt your thought process with a loud thought of their own “I can’t RESET… but I can CONTINUE.”

So long as the body was intact, they could be brought back. It was like a SAVE, except it had a tiny bit of a difference.

 

And maybe some other time this would have been an amazing discovery. To have figured out not just SAVE’s and RESET’s existed, but CONTINUE’s too… but at the moment, your mind was elsewhere. And you knew exactly what, or who, you were thinking about every time your eyes wandered back to the white shimmering soul that continued to float silently on the sidelines. Your focus was getting them back their body, and apparently trying to make amends with this angered blue-souled spirit.

 

“But… the Void’s strong.” They suddenly took a soft breath, their expression showing almost a hint of nervousness “If they fell, there was no guarantee of there being a bottom… and if there was, with no one to heal them… they would have woken up… over and over… feeling the pain of their bones breaking and muscles tearing on an endless and fucked up loop.”

 

“I get it.” You said, just as weakly as they stated their terrifying sentence “I… I get it.”

 

“An attempt to save them would have meant the world, Flowey.” They said, still as softly as before. It was nice that their tone had died down a bit, maybe the two of you could manage to have a less heated discussion “If there was a bottom, if you both crashed… after the CONTINUE you could have healed the both of you and found your way out like it never happened.”

 

You openly sulked “Spare me the details.”

 

“They  _ love _ you, Flowey.” They finally re-approached, their angered expression had finally calmed and softened, as if they felt pity for you. Or maybe they felt pity for  _ them _ for… loving you “It doesn’t matter if you can feel it or not-- to me, honestly, it doesn’t matter if you can feel  _ anything _ . I don’t care about you.”

“At least you’re honest.” You swallowed down, regretting your moment of sass as their brows furrowed back to annoyance. They pointed at you with a growl “But they DO care about you, and to keep them happy I… have to give you my blessing of sorts.”

They then snorted and pointed out “And also  _ duh, moron.  _ Even you should know by now that my soul’s pure integrity, of  _ course _ I’m gonna be fucking honest.”

You looked away for a bit, far past the bridge you both remained on as you tried to think of something else to say. How were you supposed to make amends with someone you didn’t exactly know? All you knew was that--

“Thank you for fixing my mistakes.” You suddenly admitted.

Looking back at them, the blue eyed soul gave you a look of confusion and surprise. Their brows raised up somewhat at the sudden response, and you could already feel heat rushing over your petals from the sudden attention. The confession was quick, you realized it was off the top of your head… but it was true. They were an asshole sure, but they… had a good reason for it.

“They showed me how to just let go…” You tried your best to pour out exactly what you meant, watching them as they began to slowly seat themselves back down to the floor of the circuit bridge beneath them “They showed me how to feel, and how to accept who I am… how to accept that I’m not living someone else’s life, I’m my own person and--” You gave a nervous smile “And most of all, how to… control myself.”

The last part made you swallow at the reminder of those moments you knew your mind had snapped in half, and yet they still moved forward with you. You knew why you told the blue soul thanks, but you probably had to give a complete confession.

“All I’ve done is hurt them… mentally and…” You lowered your gaze downward “Physically. I’ve hurt them so much… and you were the friend they needed that kept them from falling apart. And I don’t think I would be who I am without you either… because without you, I wouldn’t be able to… see them again.”

The silence between you and them became heavy, but you weren’t sure what else to say. You knew that throughout this journey, emotions had gotten the better of you one too many times. But each time you thought you strayed too far, in the blink of an eye they were mended together all because of someone who loved them… far more than you knew you ever could. It was the love of a best friend, it was a feeling you knew all too well. You only knew from old memories that once belonged to someone else, though. You had never experienced it yourself.

And there was an ache in the place where you wished you had a soul. You knew the moment their soul returned to their body, these overly-strong feelings would fade and numb back down, and you would return to normal.

But in a sense, you wouldn’t either. Because after all you’ve been through, you would never be the same again.

“I’m honestly surprised you bothered saying thank you.” They finally managed, suddenly lying fully down on their back. You figured it wouldn’t hurt to approach, since their anger had subsided. You let your roots do the walking for you as you made your way towards them, before plopping down at their side to simply peek your head over them.

“I know you two are alike.” They added then, though they didn’t look your way even as you looked to them. Their eyes were set on the ceiling of the Core as if it were the most interesting thing in the world “I know you both struggle with… similar things. But a word of advice _weed;_ just know that if you truly care for someone, your job is to protect them… not hurt them.”

You gave a slight nod, pulling back slightly.

“You two have my blessing.”

You blinked then “Blessing?”

“They wanted us to make amends, and I guess after some thought, even if you’re a crazy psycho murderer… you’re trying your best.” They suddenly gave a small smile up at you, and for some reason it felt rather weird. It was somewhat comforting knowing that they accepted you, but also strange seeing any other reaction other than hatred.

You had to note down not to kill the ones you loved. Protect them. Don’t hurt them, but _protect them._

“You’re not too bad yourself.” You finally gave your own smirk of approval, their smile widening from this as they snickered a little. And as if on cue, a light flickered from the corner of your eye. Turning your head a bit, you spotted the soul drifting towards the both of you.

“Put their soul back where it belongs…” The human replied, slowly closing their eyes and draping their hands over their stomach in the most cliche sleeping form you could imagine. What was this, a movie?

“I said my goodbye’s already… so just, make it quick.”

They treated it like it was painful to take a soul back. It wasn’t like you could vouch whether they were over-reacting or not of course… since you didn’t have a soul of your own. But the only way you knew how to take in  _ any  _ soul was by eating it-- and the most painful part was having to throw it up to get it back out again.

Well, of  _ course _ there were other ways of forcing souls out the body, but you were trying to turn a new leaf!

No pun intended.

“And I’ll be watching over them, Flowey.” They suddenly added, interrupting your thoughts as you refocused back on their face. They had reopened their eyes again just to return the glance “I’ll be watching over the both of you… until it’s time for me to properly go. But they need to come back… so just make sure they come back safe and sound.”

With the soul being so close again, you could feel a sadness radiate from them. It was pretty clear how upset they were over this other soul leaving. But in a sense, they weren’t exactly  _ leaving _ . Like they said, they would be staying for awhile until it was time for them to move on. Whatever that meant. Even you never knew what happened to the other souls from all those years ago after I had set them free--

_ Oh… _

The person with the most determination would become the main character of the tale again. And the moment their body and soul became bound, you would no longer hear that little voice, that little narrator… that all too familiar voice that never had the chance in over years and years to tell you how sorry they were for forcing you to carry a burden you never deserved.

For forcing you to stand in a role that you never belonged in. For forcing you to take on the painful memories of someone you never got a chance to actually meet.

For forcing you to keep the promise of someone for the sake of everyone else.

You slowly reached your vines out to carefully pull the soul closer to you. Knowing fully well that you would have to return them to their body, knowing that the integrity spirit was lying in wait for you to simply, and literally, shove the soul down their throat… and yet, you suddenly held on. You wanted to be overwhelmed with the feelings you had lost for so long. You wanted to feel everything.

And you did. Your plant body trembled in a happiness from a weight lifting off your shoulders, but it also shook in fear of the unknown. You were so happy and excited to spend these last moments Underground with the one you knew you truly cared about, but you were also so saddened at the thought of watching them leave back to the life they once lived without you.

At the realization that you knew who I was, your eyes filled with tears as you suddenly hugged the soul closer to you. Pulling back and away from the human’s resting form, you curled yourself over the soul into a tight embrace as you wept. Through clenched teeth, you tried to choke down your noises as your head and empty heart filled with remorse, regret, anger, and forgiveness all in one.

What had happened to me was not something someone like you should have ever had to carry. And I’m so sorry for ever making you apart of this.

“You didn’t do anything…” You whispered meekly to the soul. They probably had no idea who you were talking to, or why you were suddenly crying over their being, but at the same time they seemed understanding in giving you a moment to recollect yourself. And sure, maybe you were right that I didn’t force you into this world… but I also knew better than to point fingers and lay blame on someone else.

“I’m my own person…!” You breathed out, blinking away the tears as you unfurled your vines to peek down at the soul you cradled. Silently it vibrated against you, and it was strange how you could feel their eyes looking up at you with care and compassion, even though a soul in itself had no eyes at all. They knew fully well what you were going through. Other than yourself, they were the only one that ever understood you.

“But I know you’ll always be apart of me no matter what…” You finished, sniffing a bit as you slowly let go of the soul “I know… and I accept that. I accept everything. How I came to be, who I am… that’ll never change and that’s okay. Because I have my own life to live… and that’s all that matters now.”

Deep down, there was something buried within you that always begged to be discovered. A side of you that even  _ you _ never realized laid dormant in waiting. A very powerful being that was more than capable of handling his own. A flower that would feel just like everyone else if he truly believed he could. A flower with DETERMINATION. A flower that tried his very best, and that when push comes to shove, he would learn to be true to himself.

You felt the need to cry again, and you knew that if you didn’t act now… all that would happen was an endless loop of crying over and over due to the overwhelming sensations that the open soul threw at you. And you could tell they were enjoying the displays of affection you were openly admitting. You knew it wasn’t a side you had showed them before, or at least, hadn’t showed them as much as you know they deserved. It was a surprisingly sensitive side that made their soul begin to beat like a heart.

“You’ll always be here, no matter what I do to escape… you’ll always be here.” You finished, using a vine to wipe at one eye, though using your leaf to wipe at the other. You chuckled lowly to yourself, finally beginning to return towards the body “Maybe it was never Chara… maybe it was never Frisk or Papyrus… maybe my best friend all along was just you...”

You took a deep breath, the soul guiding itself between your tendrils “Thank you…” and you carefully used another vine to cradle the human’s head, caressing their hair delicately as you lifted them up a bit to support their form. Sitting them slightly upright, you used your other vines to guide the soul towards their lips.

“Goodbye Asriel, I need to get them home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Chapters also won't have the confusing back and forth switch of perspectives anymore either after this! Huzzah!  
> > Forgive me cuz its 2:43AM while I upload this.
> 
> > *bows* It was nice to have met you Asriel and bestie! Until we meet again someday in another life!


	31. We Realize Love Is Rough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I haven’t been in here for a long time… no one’s around, but it still feels like I’m being judged.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I will literally toss five bucks at anyone who draws Flowey in adorable Halloween costumes  
> >tis the season amirite?
> 
> >Flowey as a baywatch bikini girl tho--  
> >ANYWAY YAY ANOTHER UPDATE!
> 
> >EDIT:: Tags updated! Holy hell we're almost at 10k views? That's intense... the stories almost over and this is the limit to my power. If we reach 10k when it's over I will riot.

###  **Chapter Thirty-One:** ** _We Realize Love is Rough_**

 

“It all made sense at the time… but I know I haven’t been right in the head for a long while now, I don’t know what I expected.”

 

Flowey gave a low sigh, his stem somewhat drooped with his head to give him a more sulky appearance as he explained to you his thought process about everything he had been doing up to this point “When I first knew that I felt this way, I knew it’d be hard to let you go… and maybe, just maybe… things would make it easier if...”

 

“You’re such an idiot.” You interrupted with your own sigh, shaking your head in disbelief.

The two of you had moved off of the bridge the moment your soul had been returned, making certain you both were out of harm's way and the threat of falling off was long gone before sitting down and having a talk that was well deserved and long overdue.

 

“Did you think doing all of this would get me to hate you or something? Enough to want to leave you behind?” You questioned, though you didn’t exactly look at him as you asked. You were moreso looking up as your mind tried to wrap around his words.

“I figured someone threatening and succeeding to _kill_ you would be enough, but apparently not for you.” Flowey scoffed, finally lifting his head a bit to look you in the eyes just as you returned the gaze “But geeze, you sure are determined, huh.”

You sighed again, shaking your head once more and turning slightly away from him “Flowey…”

“Everything was just unstable.” He retorted quickly “What did you expect from me? I’ve been down here for so long… I’ve been here all by myself and you’ve showed me things that I can’t just turn back on.” Flowey’s words halted then, causing you to look back at him as you watched the golden flower look across the bridge to the other side. As if waiting for something to come along, but nothing intervening “Hurting you… _breaking you_ … when I first saw you my instinct was to get rid of you, but when you fell and lived I… changed tactics.”

He paused and looked at you rather nervously, like a child having to admit that he ate dessert before dinner. You did your best to hold a straight face just to show him that right now, you didn’t want to lean on either side of the discussion; you didn’t want to give him a smile, but you definitely didn’t want to appear like you were scolding him either. You blinked your eyes at him in hopes of him continuing, feeling the need to get things off your chest and hear his whole story. It needed to be done. After everything you had gone through, after everything _he_ had as well, you both needed this clarifying talk.

“Maybe I can just… play around a little.” Flowey finally started up again, looking away once more and simply lowering his gaze to the metal flooring of the Core “That’s what I wanted. I wanted to toy with you a bit. It had been so long since I got to be with someone face to face. Papyrus and Frisk would write to me, sure… but it became routine, something I got used to… something I grew _bored_ with like all things. Their words felt empty and false for some time now, because when all you have are photographs, or words on a sheet of paper… no expressions or faces, you can’t connect things so well.”

 

“But the more I played with you, and the more you kept showing interest in me… trying to get close to me, talk with me… the more I felt strange.” He swallowed, it was loud enough for you to hear, and loud enough for you to suspect that this had been the changing point for him “After such an epic story like Frisk’s, I figured no one would be interested in me like that. But _you_ … you found something about me _intriguing._ Intriguing enough to want to interview me, and to go exploring with me.” He glanced at you from the corner of his eye “And I knew I had been hooked. Whether intentional or not, you made me want you to… stay. Just a _little bit longer._ Or a _little bit more_. Or… forever.”

 

There was something about his words that made you finally crack a smile. It was soft, and simple, but it was enough for him to fully face you and return the nervous smile all the same “I-I never felt this way about _anyone_ before. It felt like… it felt like when Frisk showed me mercy and yet it was _so much more_ than that. It felt like a _need_. As if… the moment you left I would…” His breath hitched slightly, and he hesitated to admit “I would die.”

“So you were stuck in a confusing loop of…” You lifted your fingers to thoughtfully play with the flap of your backpack “...wanting me to stay, wanting me to leave, wanting me to die--”

“And when I found out you felt the same way my… I don’t know. My _everything_ would go into overdrive!” Flowey suddenly blurted rather quickly, as if he had gotten an adrenaline boost “This intensity…! It was so overpowering, I just didn’t know how to control the sudden burst of emotions! But… but just then…” His sudden excitement had calmed in that instant, and he gently raised his leaves to look down at them like hands. Letting their tips curl and unfurl in a timely pattern, he breathed out softly “When you… trusted me enough to give me your soul, your very _existence,_ your very _being…_ your _everything?_ In that moment I felt everything you ever felt for me, everything I felt for you… it showed me that-- and even though these intense feelings calmed since then… and I’m slowly growing numb just as I used to be… I’m… awake now.”

Flowey looked back to you, carefully raising a tentacle-like vine to stretch out and grace your cheek. The texture was cool and rough, for some reason it felt like it had been so long since you two had last gotten so close like this. He was so gentle with you, as if you could easily break “In the end, no matter what… I just want you to be happy. You deserve more than _this_ … and more than anything I can give you.”

 

Your eyes widened, watching him pull his vine back then. You finally furrowed your brows “Are you fucking kidding me?”

 

Flowey did a double take, as if honestly not thinking you were talking to him “ ** _What?_ ** ”

 

“I had my own _reality check,_ Flowey.” You wished you had the ability to spit fire, but you could only dish out words to him at the moment. Words that he needed to understand that, sadly, after all had been said and done he still had trouble figuring out about you. You fought with _yourself_ to be with him, you fought _common sense,_ you even fought your _best friend_ just so that she could give him her _blessing_ before she left… and after all that had happened, after all you had done… after _so much fighting_ just to be with him, he was still dead set on avoiding the obvious feelings you both shared? _Oh hell no._ “Flowey this is _more_ than what you can _give_ me, I’m not looking for _anything_ from you. If I had wanted _anything_ from you I would have been blunt and asked for that. But Flowey, just try to listen… we… we had _sex,_ you _murdered_ me, you’ve tried to keep me underground _bedridden_ and yet here I am, constantly trying to get back to you. How many more hints do I have to drop before you realize how I feel…?”

 

Flowey stiffened, his own invisible brows furrowing as if suddenly annoyed from my proclamation “Are you blaming _me_ for _you_ coming back after my ass even though I did all that shit?! That’s your own crappy judgement, honestly! You’d think someone would take their **OWN** hint at that point and just fucking drop—“

 

“Don’t **EVEN** , Flowey!” You gritted your teeth then, shaking your head “I’m not **BLAMING** you! At this point I only have _myself_ to blame! Has this all been one sided the whole time?! Was I the only one head over heels?!” Your breath hitched, suddenly there was a pressure in your chest that kept you from breathing normal. And the sudden heavy feeling in your gut didn’t help. Was in anxieties? Panics? Maybe all of the above? You were just so stressed out and sick, because after everything you two had just been through he _still_ had yet to realize that it wasn’t about what he could _give_ you, or what he _lacked_ . It was literally just about who he was as a person, as a whole unique individual and that you loved every _bit_ of him no matter what! And yet here he was, after all that you’ve done to fight for him, rejecting you with some dumb words of _‘omg but you deserve like so much better lol.’_

 

“Ugh…! I’m just so—“ You started to mix your hands in the air as you tried to figure out what else to say here. Technically, you were simply stalling. You stalled because you didn’t want to hear Flowey say anything else stupid and you knew the moment you stopped talking he’d jump right in to try and shove the blame someplace else again “What am I _supposed_ to do?! I care about you **SO MUCH** and yet you keep pushing me back and—am I supposed to turn into the fucking yandere here instead?!” You honestly had no tears filling your eyes either, you felt completely dried out. More or less, you felt like you were boiling up and any/all liquids were dissipating into the air of the Core. You didn’t know what else to say but your mind kept rolling with the punches to do your _very best_ to make certain he didn’t get a single _word_ in lest you wind up actually punching his stupidly cute face “We’ve gone so far together and I don’t think I’d know what else to do to get through to you if you just up and— and stop trying! I can’t blame you, I can only blame myself for trying and _trying_ again and _again_ and still not managing to get through to—“

 

There was a sudden yet quick slap across your face. A tendril of his had been whipped over your skin so quickly that your body over exaggerated for you. You had turned your head just as quick as the slap had flown across your face, your torso turned with you and all you could do was quickly touch your cheek from the attack. You stared at him, and all he did was return the intense gaze right back, both of you glaring and shooting daggers at one another just from eye contact. But unlike him, who stood his ground and even dared to mutter _“Shut up just for a second, will you? What are you, going into hysterics?!”_ with angry eyes… you finally broke. Your own eyes filled with tears, your brows shifted into that of less anger and more sadness, and the hot tears came rolling down “Flowey…! Why do you hate—“

He had lunged forward, and for a split second you expected nothing less. You trusted him fully now, way too much to think he would try and attack you at this point. But what he had done wasn’t expected either.

Silencing your weak cry for mercy, your words that you almost tried to spill, he sealed your lips with his own. The kiss was deep and so sudden, you didn’t have a chance to prepare. Just like the over dramatic action as before when he had smacked you, with his sudden leap forward to plant the kiss you found yourself thrown back. His eyes were tightly shut, and Flowey’s leaves squeezed your tear-stained cheeks as if you would try to back out from the smooch. You could only watch him as he continued, and though your eyes were open the whole time, you did of course return the affection. The sudden love left your body numb—and your cheek, of course.

Finally then, he pulled back and breathed out heavily. As if he hadn’t bothered breathing while kissing you. Just like you had been rambling on and on before to keep him from talking, he had successfully shut you up with a smack to the face and a smooch to the lips. You didn’t know what else to say, but when he glared at you, you were so ready to dish out some more words to his dictionary “You—“

 

**"I̸̯͂ ̵͈̂L̵̫̄O̶̯̐Ṿ̵͂E̵̘̎ ̷̞͝Y̸̯̾O̴͜͠Ụ̸̒!"**

 

You had taken in a deep breath, in preparation to lay those _few_ more verbal blows on his giant ego, however whatever else you wanted to say had suddenly been wiped clean from your memory. Your anger and hurt had almost instantaneously subsided as your heart, and your soul, raced and fluttered like the butterflies in your stomach “I… you _what?_ You _SLAPPED_ me just to—“

 

“There!” Flowey’s entire face was beet red. His face was completely flushed from a sudden shyness or embarrassment due to what he had just, and finally, confessed “I know what this feeling is! At least NOW I know what it is! This… _shitty_ feeling of wanting to be with someone! Wanting to _die_ with someone, or for someone or **WHATEVER!** Getting so **SICK** at the thought of never seeing someone again… or fucking **FOREVER!** It’s…! It’s you know!”

He gulped, his entire flower body was completely shaking. He was trembling, whether it was a jittery fear or something else, you couldn’t tell. He shivered as if he were back in Snowdin, and you reached out to gracefully cup your hands around him in a protective manner as he finished “It’s _love!_ Right?! I couldn’t connect it well I-- I didn’t know! But when I felt your soul and when we shared our feelings I just knew it I…! Is that what you want me to say?! That I’m in love with you like some dumb fucking romantic novel bullshit?!”

His eyes welled up with tears, his words suddenly slurring and stumbling together as his emotions poured out “I love you! I love you, don’t you get it you... **FUCKING MORON?!** I love you SO much! And I just wish that I could’ve said it sooner or in different ways! I wish I could take back every _shitty_ thing I’ve ever done to you in some failed crappy attempt at expressing myself but I can’t because there’s no take backs and no more chances! But **I LOVE YOU!** And the love I have for you it... it honestly drives me so _insane_ … I feel like I’m going fucking **CRAZY!** I would _die_ for you and I would _kill_ for you! And the only way I thought I could fix _any_ of this was if I did something so bad that it drove you away! Or if I just got rid of you, myself!”

He hiccuped, sniffing back tears. Even though you tried to brush your fingers over him to try and relax him, it didn’t help much. Flowey didn’t push you away, or try to pull back in any fashion, but the tears kept falling and the wheezing began as he tried to simply calm himself down “I-It’s so **POINTLESS** to love someone if you don’t get to **KEEP** them! And… why love **ANYONE** or **ANYTHING** if you’re struggling with **SO MUCH SHIT** , let alone over s-someone who will leave and never look back! And **_YOU!_ ** ” He opened his eyes and glared up towards you, causing you to retract your comforting posture and almost hold your arms up defensively “You’re such an **IDIOT** for caring about me after all I’ve done to you!”

 

“It’s not just _caring_ , Flowey. And you know that.” You intervene with your genuine smile again. Now your own body was struggling to contain the emotions that overcame you. You felt your throat tighten, that sore feeling that informed you you’d be crying more at any moment. And your body was right, the tears started and you shook your head, still smiling even as they fell down your cheeks. He was yelling and screaming and it was obvious he was upset, but adding fuel to the fire wouldn’t help. You had to keep calm. You returned your hands around him, as if preparing to hug and embrace him.

Almost instinctively he wrapped a few vines around you to return the gentle yet secure squeeze as you sniffed “I love you too, and if you really think I’m an idiot then-- then I’m _your_ idiot, okay? And honestly… I’d like to think I always will be.”

 

“Tch.” Flowey finally returned the smile, lifting his leaf to wipe away your tears as your own thumb brushed away his _“You are my idiot.”_

With that said, you couldn’t help but let out a light giggle, in sync with his own sniffling giggles as you two pressed your foreheads together. Closing your eyes, you took in just a few light breaths before you heard his faint _‘c’mere’_ as he pressed his lips softly against yours.

 

A vine gently pressed against the back of your head to bring you even closer as you both smiled into each other's kiss, the embrace only tightening as you two shared a long overdue smooch that honestly felt amazing. Your body shivered from the sudden excitement that pumped through your veins, the rush of kissing the one you knew you loved and adored. The one person who showed you that true friendship and love existed, just as much as you showed him that it was okay to feel the way he felt, and to be who he could be. You two had taught each other so much over the course of this journey that a simple and sweet kiss like this felt so right and _so_ relaxing. A reward for the both of you that you two reached a beautiful end goal of finding the love you both had been seeking.

And what was even more amazing about this kiss that you two continued planting back and forth, was that it was so innocent and sweet and simple… Flowey had no urges to push it farther and make it more rough or sexual, it remained sensual and deep and passionate and—by the time you two finally stopped you were breathless and both your faces shared a happy glow and blush.

 

“I love you so much.” You breathed out with a little laugh, and he snickered “I love you too, dork.” And that’s all that was said. Flowey’s flushed cheeks were enough to imply that he meant every word, but his gaze faltered suddenly “ _But…_ ” His content smile had calmed then as well, reality hitting the both of you as he mentioned “We have to get you home. Frisk is waiting for you.”

 

The reminder was such a mood killer that you felt the happiness disappear immediately. It was apparent on your face, since your smile suddenly dropped and he took note of this. Flowey’s embrace loosened, but he carefully curled himself around you to latch on, probably for mobility’s sake since his vase had cracked and he didn’t want to waddle around anymore. But it was still a soothing and comforting touch, it felt like even though the hug was gone, he refused to let go “Hey… it’s okay now.” He confirmed with a light breath of his own, his smile was more soft and less passionate than before, however it was still there. The fact that he had grown to accept this officially, and fully, made your heart ache even more “No matter what happens, we love each other, right?”

 

 _Ugh,_ but your chest was caving in at the thought of being away from him.

 

Wasn’t he the one who had yelled earlier about feeling sick to his stomach from the sheer _thought_ of not getting to see the one he loved again? The negative thought drowned out any positive ones you might have had. You two had been through hell and back just to make it this far, just to _finally_ be able to truly confess how you two felt about one another. He frickin’ said _“I love you”_ back! And now you would reach the end of the Underground, give him a wave, and never see him again?

 

Sure, obviously you knew for a fact you would be visiting him probably every day for the rest of your life… but now you were dead set on waking up every morning to turn in your bed and see him at the window basking in the sun of the surface. You were determined to take him out to museums and bars, to go with him to the movies and hear him critique it out of annoyance and get the whole audience to shush you both… the idea of going grocery shopping with him to help him cook a dinner idea he planned-- to go on picnics… to stargaze… to go out and dance the night away and have everyone stare in awe at how you could masterfully tango with a plant in a vase--

 

“There just has to be a way…” You said, wiping your eyes to keep yourself from crying as you stood up to your feet. Finally the journey continued. But at what cost? “I don’t know if I can leave without you.”

“Don’t think about it right now.” Flowey let his vines tangle in your hair, the tips pressing to your scalp and suddenly moving in almost a massaging manner “Just keep moving forward, we’ll get there when we have to… but the castle’s pretty close, it looks like we’re almost out of here.”

 

To make matters worse, after having said that he cleared his throat “I mean, _you’re_ almost out of here.”

 

“Oh my _god._ ” You groaned out, now the tears fell again… but at least they didn’t pour out into sobs like you expected them to. His dark humor had shitty timing “You’re such an _ass!_ ”

 

“I meant _THE CORE_ of course~!” Flowey mimicked your groan all the same as you finally started walking, and finally left the bridge area.

 

“Don’t even try it, I know what you meant!” You wiped your eyes, though appreciated the light nuzzlings you received from Flowey as his head cuddled in the crook of your neck. The two of you simply laughed it off. As hard as it was to swallow, you knew that you just had to move forward… just like he said.

 

But either way, it felt rather good getting to leave that area behind, considering everything that had happened there. You turned your head to look at the broken railing as you made your way through the corridor that lead to another long hall. As if the memories remained in the room, everything that had happened almost felt dream-like, in a sense that you could barely remember much of your ‘out of body’ experience other than getting to see old friends and friendly new faces. You got to see people who wished you the best, and you got to see people who you would never see again. But most importantly, you reminded yourself of a father’s quest to find his children. You weren’t sure if it had anything to do with you, but you knew… just like the spiders and like the amalgamate… you needed to remember to let Frisk know at the end that there were a few more people still in the Underground waiting for answers.

The light of the Void had faded away the further you walked towards yet another simple arch, and once you walked through that doorway, suddenly the world began to grow dark. It wasn’t an intimidating dark, not that it mattered since suddenly with Flowey by your side you felt a lot more braver and far more relaxed, but it was a darkness that brought the unknown. It felt like it had been a month since you first fell down compared to how far apart the locations were deep in the Underground, it felt like you spent an extra week in the Core itself because your body was rather worn out from all your soul had to go through.

 

But you had to keep pushing, you knew you had to for both of your sakes.

 

And when you finally reached another long hallway where the circuits ended and the wired ceilings faded, you knew that you were slowly reaching that castle area that Flowey had been mentioning. Even his vines were starting to get tense the closer you got to, what appeared to be, yet another elevator at the end of the hall. You suspected that it wouldn’t work, however as if reading your thoughts Flowey pointed a vine forward “This one works.”

“How can you tell?” You asked, though trusting him anyway and stepping inside of the machine to let the doors close behind you.

“This one always works.” Flowey simply confirmed with a shrug, allowing his vine to now press a button to the next floor “Whether it runs on it’s own power or something else, it’s always worked.”

 

The elevator ride wasn’t quiet or awkward between either of you. In fact, Flowey decided that during the ride he would bring up a few old memories of your journey along the way. It truly felt like an end point then, because bringing up all the things that had happened when you first arrived underground made you feel like the story was coming to a close.

“Anyone would cry like a baby if you snap their ankle back in place.” You defended yourself with a little laugh, Flowey rolling his eyes as he looked at you “You were gonna walk through the whole Underground with a busted ankle if I hadn’t offered to fix it for you. It would’ve done _way_ more damage than fixing it and having a temporary moment of pain.”

“More like a temporary moment of _‘please kill me I want to die.”_ You huffed at the memory. It didn’t even phase you that you had fallen from your rope all because Flowey had cut it and tried to kill you, it was easy for you to ignore most of his wrong doings and terrible deeds now that you both knew for certain the love you two shared. You realize that his appearing over and over, even if he didn’t _like_ you at the time, were all because he wanted to play with you out of curiousity. Like a toy in a toybox, he kept wanting more after realizing how curious you were of _him_ as well. He had confessed to this back in the bridge room, and even though it lead to this strange reality of mixed feelings and hardships, it all came through in the end. Because it turned out love won, who would’ve thought?

“And if you’re trying to embarrass me, it’s not working.” You huffed once more and whipped your head slightly, trying to turn away from his face. But Flowey’s stem simply stretched so he could continue looking at you with that devilish grin of his. You huffed thrice “You’re the one who, even after pretending to hate me or be annoyed at me, would secretly stash snacks in my backpack to make sure I could eat something.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t realize caring about your well-being was _embarrassing_ ~” Flowey snickered. Though his response played it off well, you saw the blush that appeared faintly on his cheeks “I just figured that you should live a little longer than a few minutes, you seemed interesting enough.”

The elevator shook before finally stopping. But even with the doors remaining closed, you were very much into your conversation with him. The two of you talked for a couple more minutes about everything you two had been through together; Like when Flowey took your offer of keeping warm in your clothing back at Snowdin, though trying to take control of your body in the process. And the time when the two of you listened to the memorial shrine back at Waterfall, and Flowey wishing it had a rocking guitar to go with it. The memories felt like ages ago and yet they all happened within just a span of a few days. The humor and laughter eventually calmed down though to a soothing silence, which to you implied it was time to move forward. However as you reached your hand out to the elevator buttons to open the doors, Flowey had stretched his own vine to carefully touch your wrist and stop you. You looked to him in a bit of confusion, but he decided to suddenly ask “What made you decide to… you know… keep giving me so many chances?”

 

His goofy smile, and yours, had slowly subsided as the two of you looked into one another’s eyes. Flowey furrowed his brows thoughtfully “I still just don’t… understand. I know it was love, I know that _now_ … but before love… before you felt _anything_ similar to that… what kept you pushing? What drove you to forgive me over and over?”

You lowered your gaze then. The elevator was done with its transport, it had stopped and it was time to go… in fact, it had been time to move for a few minutes now… but you didn’t want to walk and talk at the same time; at least, not with this type of subject. You didn’t want to make him think that this question wasn’t important to you. It was more than important, because it was a turning point of your own. While Flowey admitted his own turning point and what drove him to growing closer to you-- back before the two of you finally confessed your feelings-- _you_ never exactly admitted your _own_ reasons. Well, other than the excuse of _“because I loved you.”_

But before you felt even a bit of love for the flower, what made you decide that he was worth fighting for? What made you decide he was worth dying for?

 

Was it work? Because you _really_ wanted his story for when you returned home to tell the news to Frisk?

 

Was it simple curiousity just like Flowey? Because you just wanted to see how far you two could go together?

 

“Back on the surface,” You started lightly, giving him another smile just to get him to smile back. It worked, and almost like a snake he swayed gently as if in a trance due to some unknown melody that played in his head “I kept myself away from getting close to people. From making friends, from just being with someone all out of fear of losing them. Because my theory was, of course… you can’t lose what you don’t have, right?”

 

Flowey snorted “That’s for sure.”

 

“But it isn’t.” You shook your head a bit as you finally pressed the button to open up the elevator doors “I’m not a loner. Maybe introverted, but not a loner where I _want_ to be by myself. Like you, I yearn for friendship and companionship with people that care about me… people that love me, Flowey.” You looked to him then, and he blinked as you finished “What made me keep going for you, before I fell in love with you, was friendship. Because not everyone needs love and romance, but everyone needs a friend. Right?”

 

Flowey suddenly grinned, nodding gently “Right.”

 

“I wanted to be your friend.” You chuckled softly “But in the end it didn’t work out. We wound up being lovers instead.”

“How poetic~” Flowey cooed “Though I still find it hard to believe that the first time you saw me, you decided ‘ _let’s be friends~’_. You really didn’t have any other reason at all?”

 

You tried to delve deeper into your thought process all that time ago. You remember having strange dreams, dreams that reminded you so much of your past. Dreams that, now that you think of it, you could’ve sworn you heard his voice in your head. You were afraid of him, but at the same time, you would constantly show you reasons to not be. Flowey would threaten you, choke you, dare you and mock you… but then he would heal you, comfort you, feed you.

“Maybe it was a chain reaction, Flowey.” You admitted thoughtfully “You toying with me, and keeping me around… watching me and interacting with me-- it kept me hopeful about you, and how as tough and as _assholish_ as you were, there was still someone sweet on the inside.” You smiled to him more brightly, and his curious face had shown a bit of a blush. You winked “I have a feeling that I decided to be friends because you kept me around, when you could have easily tried killing me from the start.”

 

“We know now that you can’t easily be killed.” Flowey tried to tease back, though he waved his vine like an arm dismissively “So even if I had tried, it wouldn’t of worked.”

 

“But you didn’t.” You restated “That’s what matters.”

 

The golden flower lowered his gaze, nodding solemnly “Yeah.”

 

When you finally stepped through to the other side of the elevator, your vision had been washed in multiple shades of grey. As if the world had lost its color almost immediately; whether it had been naturally built so or whether something had forced the color to fade away, you had no idea. You saw an elevator that, thinking back, you suspected was connected to the Core for an easier way of reaching the castle without having to walk through the entire place-- but the reminder that it was broken lead you to believe that there was no use giving it a test to see where it would actually lead you.

As you made your way further down the light-grey tiled bridge, soon you found yourself in a rather open room. It only took the turn of your head to realize it wasn’t just a simple room, it was an overlook of an entire abandoned city of buildings in multiple sizes and grey hues. They ranged from ginormous marked places to tiny neighborhoods, all constructed from the same bricks that built the ever sturdy bridge you crossed. The material must have been very thick and durable, considering there wasn’t even a crack or fear of falling as you walked along towards the other side.

 

“Welcome to the City of New Home.” Flowey announced faintly.

 

The overlook had cluttered your vision so well that you almost got distracted from walking. Turning your attention back ahead of you, you returned to crossing the bridge as Flowey continued his commentary “Basically everyone lived in the Ruins for a while, but it wasn’t originally called the _Ruins_ , it was just Home. You saw the other city back there, right? That was long before people realized there were a lot more monsters than they imagined. Everyone feared change, but no one wanted to remain stuffed in the same small area for long probably.”

“So they ventured out.” You finished with a nod, looking to Flowey for approval. He gave a confirming nod of his own “Yup. Especially after Chara came… there wasn’t much room left with everyone having more kids or family moving in, so the King and Queen set forth and trekked. Which is how Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland all became discovered. On their way forward there were brand new areas where monsters preferred staying, so the Underground only grew and grew until finally they reached the end.”

“The end?” You blinked, reaching the corner of the long bridge and turning past two large towers on either side of it. Walking between them, you felt terribly small compared to how tall these buildings were as you made your way forward “What do you mean?”

“The barrier. They reached the barrier and they couldn’t go any farther since it blocks magic.” Flowey said “And anything made of magic, even a smidge of it. So they reached the end where the barrier was finally found, and they couldn’t keep going. So they stopped and built the capital, New Home. And that’s where we are. We’re nearing the end.”

 

And just like that, as the bridge began to thin itself out, you soon found yourself in an area that felt all too similar to the Ruins. The only difference was that, like the rest of the City of New Home, everything had been washed out in grey. The grass looked more like gravel, the leaves almost scorched to ash, it didn’t look as warm and inviting as the home in the Ruins appeared. It looked almost lonely.

 

You didn’t take too long observing the outside of the castle entrance. Though you could have sworn it looked bigger back in Waterfall, you didn’t question it as you continued to walk down the path and towards the front door, covered in it’s own thin layer of dust as you pushed it open. The Ruins had a few exceptions of cleanliness, implying that Flowey didn’t visit certain parts as often as he did the home area and the ‘hole entrance’ to the Underground. It was understandable to only keep the places that were actually occupied clean, and whatever you didn’t touch or mess with for a long while would remain dirty and dusty until you actually needed to use it or visit the place. But _here?_ Well, once you entered there were streams of light coming in from the ceiling that revealed the bits of dust that floated about in the home. Everything was already painted in greys and whites, but it had been intensified only because of all the dust that remained stuck to everything surrounding you. Like an exact replica of Flowey’s home in the Ruins, everything seemed to be in the same place in an all too familiar set up, as if either whoever built the place longed for their old home, or they just flat out weren’t creative enough to think of a new design.

And it was cold, too. The Ruins felt damp yet warm, and that was probably only because Flowey had a roaring fire lit in the fireplace. When you and Flowey entered the living room of the New Home castle, it felt cold and almost chill to the bone.

“Does this place feel creepy to you?” You dared to ask Flowey as you made your way through. As much as you were gunning for the barrier now, your curious mind wouldn’t let you pass this place without an inspection. Not to mention, you also tried to hint that you wanted some kind of story from him, since with every location you two have ever been at together, he’s told you a piece about himself in the process. There was bound to be some sort of tale to how New Home came to be in such monochromatic colors, and as you suspected Flowey did give a light chuckle at your question “Creepy? How?”

“It’s covered in dust and everything’s grey…” You added with a little wrinkle of your nose, reaching the kitchen in which you spotted a note having been left out.

 

_“Help yourself to anything you want!”_

 

In which you did wander to the fridge to open the dusty door.

In which you closed it back shut when seeing nothing of particular interest.

 

“Is grey creepy?” Flowey used a vine to rub his chin as you wandered about the kitchen. There wasn’t anything that stood out to you about the room, other than multitudes of crumbled up papers in the trash bin that resided in the corner of the room. But other than that, it felt and looked like a normal, grey, kitchen. “I always thought it felt cool and calming.”

You looked to him as you re-entered the living room, but only so that you could go to the right of the front door and head down the hallway “I guess it feels… plain.”

“Maybe that’s what was always so nice about it.” Flowey replied softly, almost lazily he returned to the crook of your neck to nuzzle into you like he were about to actually nap at a time like this “The absence, the lack thereof… the neutrality. It reminds me of the spaces between.”

 

“How poetic~” You used his earlier phrase against him, and he lightly nudged the small of your back with a vine. And yet at the same time you understood that, too. Suddenly the reminder of the Void hit you, to a point where you even looked behind you out of the sudden feeling of being watched. There was something about the Void that made you feel nothing, yet _everything_ all at the same time. You were everywhere, but nowhere-- even then, you still couldn’t tell whether you were _really_ in the Void to begin with, or whether you were simply imagining it.

 

The first door to your left was a large room, as expected since the Dreemurr’s were a group of boss monsters that towered over probably everyone and everything. But even with the gigantic and spacious room, within resided two small, tiny, and simple twin beds on either wall. A large variety of childish toys, games, and the like hugged the walls as well as if children honestly tried to make the place look clean but in a rushed manner. But just like everything else, even the room was full of nothing but greyscale items.

 

“Chara’s bed was the left one.” Flowey said, just as lazily as before. For some reason, all the times before when you heard him talk about Chara, even sometimes slipping into first person as he struggled to pull away from the label of ‘Asriel’, he sounded melancholic and brooding. As if he were being reminded of a heartbreaking memory. But everything that you two had been through, the reality of him not being bound by a name or someone else’s memories, maybe it changed. He remembered everything quite vividly still, as if the memories were still his own… but now he seemed pretty neutral about them, and not exactly emotional or stressed. His response had been like a shrug of his invisible shoulders, because he was relaying to you someone else’s story, not his own.

 

And you honestly admired that. You were rather proud that he was finally no longer struggling with the battle between himself and Asriel. He was Flowey, Flowey the flower. “Asriel’s bed was the right one, with all the toys.”

 

“Did Chara not like toys?” You asked as you stood at the doorway. For some reason, you didn’t want to push any further into the room to inspect like the rest of the house.

“They just weren’t materialistic like Asriel was.” Flowey said simply “That, and Asriel had been down here all his life… Chara, on the other hand, wasn’t down here for that long. Only a few months.”

 

You wanted to ask something else, but maybe now wasn’t the best time.

 

You gave a light nod of your head before turning to leave, stepping back into the hallway and making your way down. Flowey added just as you reached another room “That’s Asgore’s room. The other room was Toriel’s, but… you know, family drama and all that.”

It was safe to assume that by ‘family drama’ he meant what had happened to Chara. Their death probably hurt the family very much… and to make matters worse, Flowey explained that then Asriel fused his soul with theirs so that they could live on and escape the Underground, but it was short lived and he wound up dying as well. Toriel and Asgore lost both their children in such a short amount of time. Even though you’ve never experienced what it’s like to have children, you did understand what it was like to lose a really close friend and loved one. You could only figure it hurt ten times more than that.

You carefully reached out to turn the knob, entering Asgore’s room slowly and taking on the same behavior as you had done in the other room. You didn’t roam about to look and poke around, you stood right at the doorway and simply scanned the area.

 

“It’s weird, but nice.” Flowey suddenly spoke up again, and you turned your head slightly as his own now lifted from your neck to gaze up at the room “It finally feels… relieving that I can disconnect from this place. The memories and my feelings for people are still so real, but I know they’re not mine. Knowing that I’m someone else… and none of this relates to me anymore… it’s weird but nice.”

“I can imagine.” You said, lifting a finger to lightly brush his topmost petal “But it only makes sense to mourn for people’s losses, even if they aren’t related to you in any way. It’s respectful.”

“I’m learning.” Flowey said, though in somewhat of a monotone manner as if suddenly disinterested with the subject matter.

 

You took this moment to look around the room from your standing position, though not seeing much of interest. It actually looked empty, similar to most of the houses in Snowdin. Asgore must have packed all of his things just like everyone else. And just to confirm your thoughts, even Flowey seemed surprised “Huh, all of his things are gone.” Though honestly, you secretly wished he had left some of his belongings behind just so that you could learn more about him without having to ask or feel like prying. You were curious about him, since Flowey’s home had once been Toriel’s and some of her belongings had been left behind when she made it up to the surface… you had suspected that maybe King Asgore would have done the same, but to no avail. Apparently everything was important to him. Of course, besides his children’s belongings… in a sense they were sentimental, but on the other side of the argument they held too much emotional value and it would make sense to leave them behind. You want to cherish someone in your heart, you don’t want to turn into a hoarder and cherish every single item a loved one ever had before passing.

 

You reminded yourself of the old school books you had on Monster kind back in grade school, books you used to read over and share with your best friend. Books you still kept on your shelf in your bedroom… books you probably wouldn’t throw out anytime soon.

 

With a soft sigh, you backed out of the room, simply closing the door and heading back to the foyer where the grande staircase that aimed downward beckoned to you. Flowey’s relaxed posture against your neck and shoulder had somewhat stiffened then, lifting up as he pointed to the stairs with his leaf “Let’s get going…”

 

The creepy atmosphere in the world of grey had calmed down since Flowey had been rather relaxed and chattery with you, however the farther you walked down that dark grey hall the quieter he became. And the quieter he became, well of course the creepy feeling re-emerged. It wasn’t that long of a darkened hall walk before thankfully there came another clearing, overlooking yet another portion of the city of New Home. The buildings were much more sturdier looking than that of the ruins, or the city of Home. While there were visible cracks on some of them from where you could see, they didn’t look as if they would fall apart anytime soon. They looked as if they would stay standing for even more years to come, and you truly felt that it would be safe for monsters to return if they wished to grab a few more things they might have left behind on accident.

When you passed the overlook and took your right, almost immediately your vision was met with a blinding light. The light was terribly strong, and even shielding your eyes with your arm helped very little for your sight as you squinted and tried to figure out what had happened. As if the sun were directly in the room with you, an overwhelming warmth also coated you like a blanket. Glancing to Flowey, he seemed pretty neutral with your reaction, as well as with the surroundings that you still couldn’t see.

 

“It’s been awhile.” Flowey said gently, just as you were finally brave enough to lower your arm and try to adjust your eyes to your surroundings “I haven’t been in here for a long time… no one’s around, but it still feels like I’m being judged.”

Your eyes finally adjusted fully, and you realized that the blinding light that had messed with your sight was from nowhere else but the giant windows that covered the walls of the golden hallway. The hallway was so large and majestic, it was as if you were in a fairytale. As if you were a prince, making your way through a story of obtaining your long lost riches. There was something magical about this place, the golden rod and yellow checkered tiles matched the warm glow of the sun that streamed through the still crystal-clean and clear stained glass windows. And the stained glass wasn’t cluttered in multitudes of color either, it was patterned with a simple yet all too familiar design of the Delta Rune… a pattern you recognized from the Ruins as well as from monsters everywhere on the surface. You realized your eyes had been soaking in everything because… it had been awhile since you saw the sun or felt it’s kind warmth. Before you knew it or even realized, you were already standing at the center of the hallway, simply facing one of the gigantic windows as if hoping to see something outside.

 

But the light was way too bright to see anything other than a piercing white that stared right back at you.

 

“This hall is still so clean and gorgeous.” You managed to say almost breathlessly, before finally looking to Flowey. Apparently though, Flowey had been simply gazing at you, as if studying your reactions and expressions as you had been observing everything else. He gave you a small smile, though it was somewhat of a nervous one “Yeah, it is gorgeous… isn’t it?”

He took in a deep breath then, looking away from you and glancing around “This was called the Judgement Hall, because monsters and human’s alike had to _feel worthy_ in order to pass through here. Anyone and everyone was allowed, Asgore was a kind King who would even leave dumb notes in his house telling people that they can meet with him in his garden, the throne room. But most monsters never really did.”

“Well, something about this place is really heavy and magical.” Even you confirmed the feeling Flowey expressed as you started to finally walk further down the hall towards the end “I would _definitely_ feel too intimidated to keep going if at the end of all this there was a King waiting.”

 

“Asgore—“ Flowey had started, but cut himself off rather quickly. It was enough to stop you in your tracks to look at him in curiousity “Hm?”

 

“I was gonna say he wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Flowey finished with a smug grin, somewhat laughing at himself as he rolled his eyes and head all at once “But that’s a joke. Of course he would.”

 

“What do you mean?” You tried to ask a bit further, but you returned to walking forward since you were reaching the end of the hall. At the end, the light from the windows had been blocked by a large pillar, casting said corner of the hall in a rather large and looming shadow. The darkness was cool and soothing compared to the bright warm light that you had been walking in, but it was also almost intense how quick the light had faded once you reached the end.

 

Flowey shrugged his leaves, simply replying to you with “Let’s skip the basement step, how about that?”

 

And with that said, you simply shrugged your shoulders as well as you went through the doorway that ended the golden hall. The shimmering light that warmed your very core, the bright and beautiful colors that filled your vision with ease at the memories of the sun… all of that faded, once again, back to the grey of New Home. Like Flowey had said, there was a set of stairs to your right that lead downward towards a basement area, but with Flowey eying it almost as if he were intimidated, you obeyed his command and decided to not go down the steps.

 

The only other door was to your left, but the moment you reached it and prepared to enter, Flowey’s vines had almost instantaneously tightened.

 

“Wait!”

 

His sudden yelp caused you to jump as you turned your head quickly “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine…” Flowey confirmed, however he was starting to shiver as his wide eyes looked at you almost in shock. Like he were a deer in headlights, he seemed unable to speak or move other than the trembling he was performing. Of course his words weren’t believable after he sat in silence completely shaking from a sudden and unknown fear, but before you could say anything to break said silence, he finally blurted out “B-But… I-I think this is as far as I can go...”

 

Your own eyes widened at his sudden proclamation. You didn’t take long to simply drop yourself down onto the dusty floor in a kneeling position and yank Flowey off of you just so you could look at him more fully. He tangled himself on your arm as if refusing to let you go so easily, and yet he seemed certain that it was time for the both of you to part ways here. “What do you mean? Flowey, you aren’t saying that--”

 

“I can’t go in there...” Flowey said gently, still shaking even as he clung to you. He felt so certain that he couldn’t keep going on, and yet he wasn’t technically letting go either. “I’m… I’m not ready.”

 

“Flowey…” You tried to talk a bit more gently, being as comforting as possible as the flower looked away from you and in the direction of the room you would be entering soon; the _both_ of you would be if you could help it “What’s gotten into you? Is everything okay?” He had to face his fears just to make it this far, everything he had been afraid of was pushed aside just to get you to where you both were now. And yet suddenly, another obstacle was in the way.

“I know they aren’t mine…” Flowey managed, breathing out rather heavily as if he had ran a marathon in less than thirty seconds “I know these memories aren’t mine but they still feel so real to me, and I still remember… I still _feel_ what it was like… to…” His breathing hitched, suddenly he seemed to struggle just to gasp for air. You quickly pressed a hand delicately against the back of his head, unsure about what exactly to do when someone was having a panic attack, and yet wanting more than anything to be of help somehow. It was almost scary watching him hyperventilate over all this. Flowey wheezed like his lungs were giving out, his eyes almost looked as if they were bulging out their sockets.

 

“Flowey, hold your breath for a second.” You told him, and he gave you a panicked look in response to your request. When you simply returned your own calm gaze, he seemed to relax just as well. Trusting you, he gave a single nod before taking in as deep of a breath as his stem would allow, holding it until you instructed “Now slowly let it out, not all at once, but slowly, okay?”

Flowey nodded quickly again, still eying you as he did as he was told. He carefully breathed out, a soft sigh escaping him as his trembling form had managed to calm slightly. You smiled “Now try to do this a few more times, alright?”

“What good is this doing?” Flowey finally asked, though he did it anyway. He took in a large and deep breath, holding it in for a moment, before letting it out slowly. You grinned “Deep breathing exercises. If you’re focused on breathing, the panic and scariness of the world tends to go away…” You shrugged lightly, before looking away from him “At least, it helps a little.”

 

The exercise was something you were known to do when overly stressed. You remembered having to do them all throughout college during exams or homework assignments that felt _way_ too difficult for you to complete. There were times when you truly felt that life would be easier just dropping out. But you somehow managed after focusing on your breathing, relaxing yourself, and then pushing forward. Sometimes it helped, and other times it didn’t… but it never hurt to try, right?

 

Flowey did this a few more times in silence, and you didn’t mind it so long as he felt a bit better. You wouldn’t try to push him to do something that made him uncomfortable, let alone over something that gave him some sort of heart attack. But you also knew that, deep down, you _really_ wanted him to be with you every step of the way. You weren’t sure you’d be able to reach the end yourself without his support… because he mattered to you. You loved him dearly, and you two had been through so much together to just give up now. So as much as you wanted him to be comfortable, and as much as you respected him not wanting to go, you also wanted to hope to try and convince him.

 

“Ah…” He finally stopped the breathing exercises, looking at you somewhat confused for a moment, before looking down as if ashamed “Thanks.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” You dared to ask. And though at first he turned himself away from you, implying that the answer was ‘no’ and he was ready to vanish… he still spoke in response to your question “I was doing so well, but here I am again. Remembering things, and feeling things that belonged to Asriel.”

You weren’t sure what to say. You wanted to turn him around look back at you, but as if knowing, he stretched himself outward more. Still wrapped around your arm, but he made distance between you two as he mentioned “Asriel died in there. And I felt _everything._ The arrows… the stabs… and I remember _that asshole and what they had done._ ”

The growl that came from him at the end of his sentence startled you, but he pushed on and sighed heavily “Before they died they told Asriel something that would change his mind— because Asriel didn’t feel comfortable going through with the plan, but of course… of course Chara was _pissed._ It makes sense why, but it can’t be helped! At least—it shouldn’t be…?” Flowey turned back to face you finally, though the distance remained. His eyes were squinted as if having trouble focusing, you could tell his mind was reeling with memories that weren’t his own, feelings that weren’t his own either. “Chara probably couldn’t stand it that Asriel no longer wanted to fuse to break the barrier and everything, he just wanted Chara to stop dying and get better… so instead, Chara simply told Asriel he wanted to see _the flowers of their village one last time._ ”

 

You remember Flowey having told you this part of the story before, and you also understood why his hurt and fear had switched to anger. When Chara and Asriel had fused, Chara must have known that the humans would attack and hurt Asriel, thus hoping that it would get Asriel to fight and kill them all according to some plot of revenge… but it didn’t happen. It didn’t happen because Asriel was never a violent person.

 

“Asriel didn’t fight back, when he made it up there.” Flowey confirmed your memory of the time he had told you this tale before “When they fused together, and Chara wanted to use Asriel to just kill the humans… Asriel simply let himself get stabbed, and bruised, and beaten, until he dragged them both back home… to die. And at the time… long before when I first told you this… I felt _pissed off_ at Asriel for not going through with it. I mean--” Flowey scoffed slightly “You have the power to get revenge on the ones that put you and everyone down here to begin with, who _wouldn’t_ be mad! But still… _but still_ …” He breathed out heavily, growling again “ _I know now that I was wrong. I know now that THEY were wrong_ …”

Flowey looked off towards the doorway then, the doorway you suspected lead to the throne room “All of Asriel’s pain, _everything…_ that feeling of turning to dust… I feel it _all_ . And it still _hurts._ I know these aren’t my memories… and I know that when we first met I used to tell you that Asriel Dreemurr was the _old me_ . But I’m not.” Flowey shook his head slightly “I’m not Asriel, and I never was… I’m just some… creepy fucked up _thing_ that was spawned from his ashes. I’m a living corpse.”

“Flowey, don’t talk down at yourself like that.” You couldn’t stand the distance that was getting between you two, to the point where you even started grabbing at his stem. You pulled at it gently, literally like a rope you pulled him back towards you, feeling the stem shrink ever so slowly as the space between you two slimmed as well. You leaned down and kissed his forehead “You’re not some corpse… and even if you remember how he felt and everything he had been through, you’re still _you_ , alright? And that won’t ever change.”

 

With that, you pulled back and smiled down at him “You’re still my Flowey, alright? The pain is just a memory, and you’re here with me…”

 

Flowey almost immediately lifted up to return the kiss, quickly pecking your forehead the same as you had done him before lowering back down and chuckling “I know you’re right. It’ll take some time, but I think I’ll be okay.”

 

“And I know it will hurt for a long time.” You nodded and agreed “But I can’t do this without you, please don’t let me reach the end alone. I know it feels weird and off for you, but I also want you to… see Frisk again.” At the suggestion given, Flowey almost tensed once more. You were quick to comfort him and stroke his petals to try and calm him down. Thankfully it worked, and you could continue in your defense “It’s been so long, and you know it has. The both of you need some closure, and maybe meeting face to face would be way better than a letter you get from a hole in the ceiling?”

You grinned at the last part, though he didn’t seem all too thrilled at the idea or the _joke._ He furrowed his invisible brows “All the letters were always from Papyrus. Even if Papyrus told me how Frisk felt or how Sans was doing, claiming them both in the dumb _fan club_ , it was always Papyrus.”

“That doesn’t mean Frisk doesn’t feel the same way.” You wanted to defend Frisk as much as possible. After all, you were fully aware now that Frisk was a friend of yours. Neither of you knew much about eachother other than how you two were in the workplace and during college, but they were someone you wanted to become good friends with once you made it back to the surface. You weren’t sure anymore whether you were ready to return to your old life without Flowey there, though. “I know what I heard in the echo flowers, back in Waterfall… and I know you’ve heard them too.”

Flowey didn’t respond to this, but the reminder of what tiny Frisk had said made your chest hurt. Young Frisk felt terrible having to leave _anyone_ behind, they had gone through so much to save _all_ of Monsterkind just to be forced to leave someone. Frisk had promised a long lost prince that they would protect the monsters from whom he had changed into, neither of them realizing that Asriel had died long ago… and all that remained was a confused and frightened Flowey. You continued “Frisk was a little kid who had to keep a promise to someone they couldn’t save, of course they were hurting. It probably hurt them more that they had to choose between rescuing you or keeping a promise to someone else. Frisk is older now, I’m sure they’ll understand everything… and who knows—“

 

“Don’t say it.” Flowey finally stopped you in your tracks, knowing fully well what you were about to say. You bit your bottom lip, nodding in acceptance of being told to shush. The golden flower smiled, though it was a somewhat tired smile “In the end… more than my own well-being, I just want you to go home. Alright? No matter what, we’re getting you home.”

 

Your heart was aching again. As it had done many times before, only this time… now that you both knew you two were deep in love… it hurt even worse.

 

“I’m ready.” Flowey said, taking a deep breath before letting it out and giving you a much warmer smile. The tiredness was still there, and yet it didn’t seem as bad as it had been a few seconds ago. He raised his vines and let them press to the back of your head, as if trying to pull you closer to him. “Are you?”

 

You weren’t sure you’d ever be ready, honestly. But the comfort of his vines made you relax, feeling them touch the back of your head and curl in your hair… you gazed longingly into Flowey’s eyes, just wishing he would care for once and try to make it to the surface with you. This whole time, this whole journey had been either Flowey trying to get _you_ to stay, or Flowey trying to get you to _go_. Never once had he thought or tried to reach the surface with you, he never had the confidence or belief that he would make it out with you.

You nodded anyway, and his form relaxed against your shoulder just as he had done before. He let his vines delicately pull you in, and you two shared a sweet and light peck on eachothers lips before he mumbled “ _Let’s go, then._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >I had something to say but my friend farted LOUDLY in the other room so I got distracted--
> 
> >but omg love confessions finally! does this mean they're....*GASPE* DATING?! SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP


	32. And A Promise Is Tested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So many people were still counting on you, though. You knew you couldn’t give up just because someone you loved chose to stand down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > EDIT:: Chapter count officially updated. There will be 36 chapters total.
> 
> >Choose your side.  
> >What is most important to you?
> 
> >Friendship or Love?
> 
> >Don't be afraid.
> 
> >You have...  
> > D E T E R M I N A T I O N

###  **Chapter Thirty-Two:** ** _And A Promise Is Tested_**

 

The sight of the throne room was just as beautiful and amazing as the grande hall that lead you there.

 

You didn’t say a word until you made your way to the center of the large bed of golden flowers, the flowers having engulfed and consumed everything over the course of the multiple years the room existed. It was easy to envision that the throne room itself had once been made out of marble walls and pillars, since you could manage to spot the white marble between the vines of the flora that outstretched from the earth along the cracks of the once fine material. The room was bursting with the same life and light from the golden hallway that guided there, though thankfully not as bright or blinding as the other space. The warm glow of the sun shined down from large holes in the ceiling, holes that when looked through clearly revealed the sky of the world above; the familiar sky that you hadn’t seen in what felt like many  _ many _ weeks had finally revealed itself in a bright orange and yellow gradient. The sun was warm as it spread itself in patches and patterns that fit the broken ceiling, polka-dotting the overgrowth of golden flowers that spread over the entire floor of the throne room… and then some. Even Flowey seemed somewhat bewildered at this.

 

“Are golden flowers like dandelions?” You asked, though you felt bad about the question after noticing Flowey’s annoyed look in your direction. Giving a nervous smile and a light shrug, you tried to clarify “I mean, look at this place… they’re growing so fast, a lot like weeds.”

“They probably are.” Flowey simply agreed, though it was obvious he was still annoyed at the realization “But I guess it would make sense, your friend kept calling me a weed.”

“She didn’t mean it, I’m sure.” You tried to defend as if I wasn’t still around.

 

_ Btw _ I did mean it he’s still a weed.

 

“I contained the patch in the Ruins since I live there.” Flowey pushed on nonetheless as you made your way to the abandoned throne. Just like the hall, for some reason there was a strange yet  _ magical _ presence you could feel in the room with you. And it must have been the same presence that kept dust from forming even in a place long since abandoned “Since I don’t come here often, let alone I’ve never had a reason to, I guess the flowers sort of started to spread out.”

Though the throne was dustless, the legs and armrests of the seat had been taken over by green vines and leaves. The vines also sprouted tiny yellow buds of golden flowers waiting to blossom. You dared to seat yourself on the throne, and even trying to scoot around in it proved to be a failure, because the flowers had long since planted the seat in its position.

The cushion had been worn out for a while now as well, whether someone after all these years had still continuously used it, or whether it had been worn out long since the monsters left the Underground… you honestly couldn’t tell. You just knew the throne was rather uncomfortable, and the hard material made your butt sore in less than a minute. “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a king ruling over everything?” You asked then, just as you slowly lifted yourself up from the chair. You felt somewhat bad that you were trampling around on top of the flowers with your boots, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver around in the room without doing so.

The questioned seemed to catch Flowey’s interest, and he gave you a small smile at your curiousity “Of course. I have Asriel’s memories, remember?” He snickered softly “And remember there was a time when I almost took over everything myself.”

You wanted to ask what it was like to feel all that  _ power _ , to feel certain of one’s future… to feel  _ secure  _ and  _ set  _ for life… but you also didn’t want to awaken anything within Flowey that would make him go back. Go back to the time when he  _ did  _ plan on killing everything and ruling as an overlord of all…

 

And yet, at the same time, you wondered still.

 

Thankfully, you noticed the throne far off in the corner of the room. It was covered in a white sheet, but the sheet had been melded with the shape of the chair thanks to the vines that grew over it and tightened it into the white silhouette that remained planted just like the throne at the center. You made your way towards it carefully, and Flowey decided to finish his thoughts from earlier “But I think I can settle with just being the ruler over humanity. Or at least, one in particular.”

 

You smirked at the comment, rolling your eyes as you touched a hand against the clothed throne’s armrest “Who says you’ll rule over me?”

 

“My dominant streak does.” Flowey used a leaf to almost gracefully gesture towards himself, closing his eyes “I already have a record.”

 

“Flowey,” You turn your head fully to face him, your cheeks flushed from the conversation you two were having, but wanting to clarify something “I meant it back at the resort that I’m not always going to just be  _ face down ass up _ .”

 

“But that’s the way I like to—“

 

You patted a finger over his mouth, his eyes blinking as if trying to feign innocence “Flowey don’t you dare rhyme that.”

 

“Who says you’ll always be ass up anyway~?” Flowey cooed, his grin suddenly turning devilish “I like you on your back so I can see your face~”

 

“Do we have to have this conversation now?” Your entire face was heating up, though you felt much better about it since Flowey’s cheeks were reddening even if his expression seemed so cocky “Keep talking about the room here, I’ve gotten lazy when it comes to writing notes so I need to memorize as much as I can about this place for my report.”

“I forgot all about your little journal.” Flowey did as he was told and backed down, folding his leaves across his stem like arms of a thinking figure “It has been awhile since I saw you last whip it out.”

“It’s been awhile since I saw  _ you _ last  _ whip it out _ .” You took the plunge and went for it, snickering at your own sex innuendo joke. Flowey’s mouth was agape for a short moment, before he snorted “ _ Har har _ , very funny… unfortunately the mood isn’t fitting here.” He glanced around him then, his leaves still crossed as he inspected the place “Last thing I want is to fuck where dead people are.”

 

The reminder made you cringe.

 

“Let alone, I don’t wanna fuck you and you try to make out with an inanimate plant like it’s  _ me  _ or something.” Flowey finished with a smirk on his lips as he mimicked your voice suddenly  _ “Oh Flowey~ you fuck me so well~  _ sweetheart  that’s not me please stop kissing other plants.”

 

“Why is this throne in the corner? Let’s talk about this!” You tried to change the subject one again, completely regretting having returned it to the sex jokes after your own successful clap back that wound up being unsuccessful “Was this a spare?”

“It was Queen Toriel’s.” Flowey said simply, shrugging his leaves as if it were a fact everyone should know “Obviously after the death of the Dreemurr kids, Toriel and Asgore’s relationship probably turned sour. I don’t know too much, considering I wasn’t around at the time and neither was Asriel. But it’s kind of a common thing from what I’ve read.” Flowey lowered his eyes over the abandoned throne “When parents lose a child, it usually leads to divorce.”

 

That sentence alone made your mind drift off to your own parents. During this whole journey, it had been a journey of self-discovery and realizing who your real friends were. You had learned to turn a new leaf and to become more outgoing and open, allowing anyone willing to enter your heart and make new friends and meet new people. You were open and willing for everyone, and that  _ did  _ include your parents. They might have abandoned you just because of your decision about your future, but that didn’t mean you had to abandon them in return. Wherever they were, you still loved them dearly.

You took in a deep breath suddenly, it came out of the blue how heavy of a thought it turned out to be. The breath made Flowey notice, and he looked at you “Are you okay?”

“As okay as I can be.” You simply smiled at him. He tilted his head a bit though, unconvinced. Silently he watched you for a moment, and at first you were easily unmoved from his gaze as you wandered towards the doorway that you assumed lead to the next room, but you found yourself unable to walk through just yet.

 

With a little sigh, you looked to him “Flowey, did I tell you that my parents disowned me? After I decided when starting college I would major in Monster Studies?”

 

Flowey was silent for a second, his eyes still seemed to scan over you as if trying to read further than what your words would say “Did they not like monsters?”

 

“It started off as them getting annoyed I would believe in ‘imaginary things’, they thought monsters weren’t real and hated that me and my best friend talked and read about them all the time.” You sighed heavily “They hated the fact that we had a class on monsters when I was little. They hated a lot of things that dealt with monsters… even when Frisk came from the Underground with them and lead their parade through the streets… they pulled me away so I couldn’t watch it all. They just… hated anything that dealt with change, anyone that was  _ different _ from them.”

Your parents weren’t the greatest, and you remember often wishing you were living with someone else as you grew up. There had always been the fear of them abandoning you for your beliefs and interests, and if it wasn’t for Frisk and their friends and family, you probably wouldn’t of had the guts to one day stand up to them about who you wanted to be when you grew up. Who you were today. Them telling you that you were no longer their child hurt like  _ hell _ , but the blow was softened because Frisk was there for you, and so were Toriel, and Asgore, and…

 

“Who needs parents anyway?” Flowey suddenly snorted, causing you to blink and look at him. You found yourself blinking away tears you hadn’t even realized were formed, and you quickly wiped them away as he continued with a surprisingly smug look “I don’t have any, or if you wanna get technical,  _ Alphys  _ of all people is my mom, right? She created me so—what the hell, you know?”

 

You could tell he was trying to cheer you up, but you weren’t sure it was working. In fact, you could feel that pressure build up. The pressure that warned you to mentally prepare yourself for a break down. You were prepping to cry and bawl your eyes out, but Flowey still tried “They gave up on someone who was destined for great things.”

You sniffed then, more tears falling but you looked at him. Flowey gave a little smile, though it was a nervous one “You’re an amazing person, and this is who you became without your parents help. You are who you are because you made your own path. You didn’t follow the one that was given to you, you didn’t follow the one that folks yelled at you to go down…” His smile widened somewhat “If you had, we wouldn’t be here today. You’d be a lawyer who would fight racist court cases or some bullshit.”

 

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head “You’re so dumb sometimes.”

“But so are you.” Flowey retorted gently, lifting a leaf to touch your face “Sometimes things happen for a reason, and you have to learn to accept them as they come. Fight and try if you want, and if you can change anything then by all means do it and be proud that you pushed fate… but don’t be sad over the past. Remember to keep moving forward, alright idiot?”

You snickered, wiping your eyes and nodding “Alright, idiot.”

 

The golden flowers that spread were because of Asriel’s ashes having carried the seeds from the surface, they were of flowers that had long since disappeared from the city you grew up in, but remained down below as a memorial of not just Asriel, but of Chara as well. Chara, from the stories told, was not a good person… but Asriel would do anything for them, even die for them. And maybe more than anything… you wished you had parents who would die for you. With Flowey by your side, you had a constant reminder that you would die for someone, and he was willing to die for you too. As much as you were willing to let people in and change your old ways, you couldn’t help but feel like you were lying to yourself. If your parents came to your doorstep and asked for forgiveness, would you forgive them?

 

If Asriel were to one day come alive again, could he forgive Chara for all they had done? How strong was love?

 

But your mind wandered back to what Flowey had said. The possibility of divorce between two married persons who lost a child. Did it count if the child was disowned? Or was it only for death? Were they both happy now? Living life as normal as if they never had a child to begin with? You wondered what your parents were up to now… but at the same time, you were scared of knowing. Your mind ran with the thought that maybe, just maybe… they would think about you now and again, pick up the phone and be tempted to dial… but then hang up out of fear of being rejected. Out of fear of being treated as they had once treated you. It was somewhat a satisfying thought, but at the same time you wished it were true. You wished that they would try and call you…

 

But maybe this story wasn’t just about letting go of old friends to make room for new ones. Maybe this story was also about letting go of old family to make room for people who truly loved you?

 

Maybe.

 

“Ready?” Flowey interrupted your thoughts with a question, just then his leaf finally left your face… though you honestly didn’t realize it had been there the whole time. You gave a small nod of your head, lightly kissing his cheek in confirmation. He gave you a small smile “This is the end.”

* * *

 

It was understandable that the path leading towards where the barrier lied hadn’t exactly been renovated to be scenic or welcoming. If you were King of all Monster kind, you wouldn’t exactly be happy about showing off the place where the barrier resided. So it made perfect sense that once you crossed that doorway leading out of the throne room, everything had once more returned to a depressing dark grey. A single stream of light shined down from above the main grey area, but other than that, even the hall to the right that lead further down grew darker. Unlike the hall just before entering the throne area, there were no other doors or entrances that could lead you to curiously wander about, there was only a single hall that lead to a single large archway… and that was where you headed.

And when you stepped through into the darkness that resided on the other side of the arch, the hard flooring of the grey room had suddenly been transformed into that of something plush. The area you stepped into had a floor completely covered in grass, dirt, and moss, long since overgrown and in need of pruning. In fact, you weren’t sure it even had a floor. When you glanced down to inspect it more as you moved forward, you noticed that it was simply the earth of the mountain. Like the throne room, the ceiling of the cave-like hall had cracks and openings that let it bits of light from the outside world, light that probably helped the greenery grow in size over the years. It was a light that also helped you manage to see something glitter on the ground the farther down you walked through the dark cave-like hall.

“Here’s the barrier hall.” Flowey probably figured it was about time to explain the room, even though there wasn’t much needing to be explained at this point “Where folks dug and dug until they bumped into the barrier, hence why it’s underdeveloped. No point in making this place look nice.”

When you finally reached the glimmering pieces on the ground, you noticed there was an abundance of them. They were tiny shards that almost looked like glass, but they shimmered like rainbows from a prism crystal as you knelt near them. Your footsteps crackled and snapped with each careful step, implying that there were multiple shards scattered all over the ground and cluttered in the grass and moss. You looked up to check for ceiling lights, or maybe even lamps or chandeliers, but you couldn’t find anything. As if figuring out your confusion, Flowey commented “Those would be bits of the barrier. They were remnants left behind when it had been broken.”

 

“You’d think magic would vanish after it’s been destroyed or used up.” You said thoughtfully, lifting up a shard carefully with your fingertips to inspect it. Now you were on the hunt for a decent sized shard, really wanting to put it in your bag to bring to the surface “Let alone if it’s been well over a few years.”

 

“Magic is weird.” Flowey said simply, watching you as you kept your crouching position but still walked around the cave area, hunting for that perfect piece “Even if broken, it can have lifelong effects.”

You picked up a shard that you figured was a decent size and started to remove your backpack to put it inside. You remember wishing that you could use magic, back in the day. When you were little you wanted so many things to happen. To defeat bad guys like bullies and burglars in your town, to rescue the lost children of Mount Ebott, to bring your friend back, to change your parents minds about how they felt on Monster kind. As much as you believed deeply in Monsters and all that they were or could do, your brain never quite wrapped around the thought of magic actually existing, even if monsters were made out of it. It wasn’t until you got older and you started witnessing it first hand in high school and college that you truly believed in it.

 

Even now, the power of SOUL’s still surprised and astonished you.

 

You lifted back up and continued your way down, figuring that there would be more to this cavern hall than just earth, grass, and sunlight. But soon enough, you reached an area that was covered in shiny glass from the barrier’s breach. It was a wall that had been stacked up to seal the cave off; completely fixed with stone, brick, mud and moss. It blocked off the exit that lead to the outside world you had worked so hard to reach. Flowey didn’t have to explain what this was, because as you felt along it carefully you simply knew this was where the barrier had been. This was where it had been shattered into millions of pieces, freeing all of monster kind.

 

And this is where the wall had been built back up, sealing away a promise bound to a flower.

 

“Now the waiting game.” Flowey mumbled.

 

You saw the tiny streams of light peak through the sliver of crevices within the walls makeshift design, but trying to peak through didn’t grant you any sight. They were too small for you to see much of anything. Your heart was racing at the thought of stepping outside again, the sudden rush of excitement fueled you, and you realized that you were literally a few stone slabs away from getting out of the Underground.

 

“ **FRISK?!** ” You suddenly shouted.

 

You could feel Flowey jump slightly from the yell, but you didn’t have time to apologize. Instead, you found yourself feeling along the wall as you looked for a large enough hole that your voice could be carried through “Frisk, I made it! I’m here!”

You couldn’t remember if Frisk gave you a time limit or not, but you knew for a fact they wouldn’t abandon you. The greater fear was them wanting to abandon Flowey, but for now the main mission was to get the wall down and to have an opening to crawl out of. It was impossible to push from your end, unfortunately… unless you wanted the magical shards to pierce your hands and arms. If, of course, they were that sharp. They did look the part, but then again you couldn’t tell much when it came to magic.

 

With another deep breath, you shout out again, this time giving it everything you’ve got “ **FRISK I’M HERE!** Frisk?!”

 

_         “I’m here!” _

 

The familiar yet muffled sound of their voice made your lips instantly curve into a smile. It was Frisk, Frisk really came!

Flowey unravelling himself and quickly springing a bit away from you went unnoticed as you blurted out “Oh my god, you actually came!”

 

_ “Of course I did!” _ Frisk had shouted back, almost laughing as much as you could tell from the muffled sound of their voice thanks to the wall between you both “Did you think I was going to leave you here?!”

“I—!” You weren’t sure what to say suddenly, the reminder of Frisk having actually pondered abandoning you before rang in your mind. Back in Alphys’ lab, Frisk said that they wouldn’t break the barrier wall for you because they were so headstrong about keeping it up for the sake of locking Flowey away. For a moment back there, Frisk was certain they would leave you behind. They gave you a chance after mulling it over… but even so, the fact that Frisk still had a moment of not giving in, made you question whether they really would have left you underground or not “I… didn’t know what to think, actually.”

 

Your words must have been too soft to be heard or responded to, because instead of replying to your sulky comment, Frisk suddenly shouted  _ “ _ **_STAND BACK, ALRIGHT?! WE’RE MAKING THE HOLE NOW!!_ ** _ ” _

 

_ We? _

 

You backed away as you were instructed, turning your head with a smile towards Flowey who—you finally noticed was no longer on your shoulder. The sudden surprise of not knowing where Flowey was distracted you. You turned your back to the wall and hurried away from it, calling out “Flowey?! Where are you?!”

The wall was definitely being worked on by multiple persons, because there was a commotion of voices going on all at once outside, including different sounds and noises that sounded like some type of dinosaur laser fight. There were even fits of laughter from time to time, signaling that whoever was helping Frisk out was probably enjoying themselves.

 

You ran your way through the cave, your heart still racing in your chest from all the events unfolding at once. You would finally leave the Underground, but at the same time Flowey decided to vanish. Your fear of losing him was becoming a reality. You might not have had a time limit as to when you could make it to the barrier point, but now they were knocking away at the wall to get you out.

 

If Flowey wasn’t with you, then there was no way you would be able to reason with Frisk about bringing him to the surface.

 

You found yourself back in the dark grey hall once you left the barrier entrance behind, and you hurried towards the main room where the light fell and revealed more of the area. You couldn’t find Flowey anywhere within the room, and the moment you stepped through to the throne room you knew just what he was doing.

The reminder that the throne room was full of thousands of golden flowers made you frown deeply, Flowey might have possibly been hiding amongst them.

There was no guarantee that he was in the room, but at the same time you figured that Flowey wouldn’t bother travelling so far back into the Underground to leave you alone. You liked to think better of him, though you were starting to feel that dread of doubt wash over you as you got on your hands and knees. “Flowey, this isn’t funny.” You tried to say lightly, but you couldn’t even smile. Now wasn’t the best time for him to pull a prank on you… what would make it worse was if it hadn’t been a prank to begin with.

 

Falling into the cluster of golden flowers, you began to crawl, calling meekly “Flowey? Flowey where are you?”

 

You must have looked so desperate and zany, crawling through the flowers and trying to figure out if Flowey was among them. As you made your way carefully, petal after petal would waft, smack, or pat at your face. There was probably enough pollen in your nostrils to bring all the bees to the yard at this rate, but you also suppressed the urge to sneeze out of your second fear—sneezing all over Flowey.

You called again, this time your voice became weary and weak. That choking feeling was trying to escape you again, the feeling of needing to break down into tears “ _ F-Flowey…? _ ”

There was still no response, and you slowly sat upright, though still resting on your legs as you skimmed over the top of the flower bed once more. None of the flowers moved or swayed even slightly to imply one of them was alive. This definitely meant Flowey had long since left someplace else to hide, and if he weren’t hiding, it was just him deciding to drop you off with Frisk and leave.

The tears finally fell, and you sniffed loudly as you wiped your face with your arm. Trying to rub off any of the pollen that had decided to cling to you, you could only imagine that you looked like a mess crawling around through the dirt just to find Flowey. He meant so much to you, and you thought you meant the same to him… but he was gone.

Of course it hurt, because you knew he had nothing but doubt about leaving the Underground, and you kept pushing him and pushing him. It wasn’t right of you and it wasn’t fair, and this is what happens when you push someone to do things they didn’t believe in.

 

“I’m  _ so sorry…! _ ” You managed between soft sobs. You wiped your eyes to try and keep the tears from falling, though all that caused were streaks and stains to smudge your face from the flower bed crawl you had performed. You honestly weren’t sure you cared all too much about how you looked though, if anything, you wished you could hear Flowey comment about how ugly of a crier you were. The thought in itself made you smile, but at the same time it made you cry harder. You found yourself hiccupping and sniffling almost sloppily, like a baby having thrown a tantrum and expecting their mother to cradle them and blow their nose. But all you had was yourself and your shirt, a dirty shirt that was a temporary fix for a long-term problem. You lifted the bottom of your shirt slightly as you lifted up on your knees, wiping heavily at your face.

 

So many people were still counting on you, though. You knew you couldn’t give up just because someone you loved chose to stand down. But you also knew that you weren’t sure you could keep going…

But the amalgamate, you wanted to see if there was some sort of way to bring it back to life. And the spiders that had turned ravenous from being locked underground. Even the father’s wish that you could barely remember… it still existed. So many were counting on you to get word to Frisk of their being left behind, could you really give up on them all because Flowey gave up on reaching the surface?

Selfishly, you told yourself  _ yes. _ You told yourself that the easy answer was  _ yes, _ you could lie in the flowers and simply fall asleep. Either Frisk and whoever they brought with them would be forced to enter deeper to find you, or they would all give up and return to their normal lives.

 

_      “I love you.” _

 

His words seemed to echo in your head. But now you couldn’t tell if they were lies or if he had really meant it.

 

_ “Calm down, okay?” _ Flowey’s voice seemed to constantly nag at you, like you were in some circle of hell where you would be tormented for loving a soulless flower. You sniffed and finally removed the bottom of your shirt from your face, managing to have wiped your face from the wet tears, but having no doubt in your mind that you were covered in brown and yellow stains thanks to the earth you had crawled around on. Blinking slowly in front of you, one flower in particular stood out in the see of blurry shades. Your eyes were still trying to adjust to the world again after your cry fest, but you simply reached down to take hold of the flower before you with a weak smile. Sighing out shakily, you placed a small kiss on one of the flower’s petals, whispering  _ “I love you _ .” Like it were Flowey.

 

“I love you too—But I said that already—“

 

You jumped, your eyes widening as the flower kissed you back. In total shock you tossed it, but all that escaped the plant was a weak yelp from a surprise of its own, before it flopped back into the flowers from whence it came. Were you high?  _ Oh shit wait— _

“Flowey?!” You blurted, hurrying over towards where you had tossed the flower. Just as you had lowered yourself down to peek through, once again you had trouble spotting him amongst all the golden flowers that wound up looking alike. Honestly, you now weren’t so sure if you had actually saw Flowey or if you were just imagining things. But from the corner of your eye, out sprung Flowey, shaking his head quickly from the toss “What the fuck’s your deal?!”

“Don’t give me that!” Your eyes watered again, quickly pulling him back into your arms to give him a tight hug. His tendrils and vines had stiffened in your hold, but soon enough they loosened. As if he were prepared to protest, but more than likely he had realized his own faults on the matter before accepting his fate. Flowey did just that, letting his plant-like tentacles wrap around you in a comforting embrace “I got nervous. I’m sorry—I didn’t want you upset I just figured… I was…” He seemed to have trouble forming his thoughts into words, but you assumed the jist of it. Flowey was still pretty scared about confronting Frisk over everything, let alone about you and him asking for Flowey to join you in your return to the surface. But after the stunt he had pulled, you knew that you damn well couldn’t survive without him. You definitely couldn’t leave without him by your side. You two had been through way too much to give up on each other now.

“I love you.” You simply said again like before, smiling down at him. He looked up at you, smiling back and commenting on your appearance instead “You look like trash. You shouldn’t cry… you’re such an ugly crier.”

“I love hearing that from you, too.” You said with a tiny laugh, quickly kissing his lips. Flowey mumbled against you, though when the kiss was broken he snorted. His face was flushed from the sudden attention, and he breathed “You taste like dirt! You were really hunting around for me, weren’t you?”

“What did you expect? You vanished so suddenly… I was worried, Flowey.” You pouted, though he lifted his leaves to not only poke at your jutted out lip, but to begin wiping away at your face as a means of trying to clean you up. In the silence that fell around you both, you and him both continued to hold onto one another, and it was soothing and comforting. With a small smile, you closed your eyes as you enjoyed his gentle touches along your cheeks and chin. The silence wasn’t terrifying or lonely like it had been moments ago, you were rather appreciative of being able to share it with someone.

 

“No matter what,” You broke the silence with your words, opening your eyes at the reality you two shared “I won’t abandon you.”

 

“Stop being a moron just for one second.” Flowey was gentle with his tone, but his words somewhat stung “This isn’t gonna work, and I’m getting really tired of you pushing that—“

 

“No, I need you to trust in me.” You interrupted with a harshness of your own. He stopped trying to speak, but he also stopped his motions of cleaning off your face. Whether he actually managed to make you look clean or not, you wouldn’t be able to tell unless someone handed you a mirror. But that wasn’t what you were concerned over now, because you needed to get him to understand “I’m not leaving without you.”

 

“You’re so stupid sometimes.” Flowey’s eyes widened, his annoyed and angered expression had changed to that of panic as you lifted him and yourself off of the ground “Just listen to me, alright? Don’t you  _ get it _ ? You need to let me go just like I need to do the same for you! Our lives are  _ too  _ different! I belong down here, and you belong up there! Please, just listen to—“

 

“I refuse.” You simply said, taking in a deep breath as you now began your trek back towards the barrier, where Frisk and others were knocking down the wall for you. You could feel Flowey prepared to leap again, his stem had stretched and tightened, however you held onto him. A part of you felt bad for forcing him to stay with you, but another part of you knew that this had to happen. You knew what you meant, and you were officially prepared for the risks that would come along with it. “I love you too much, Flowey. One way or another, we’re getting a happy ending.”

Flowey huffed “Happy ending?”

“Well, you treat this like it’s a story, right?” You looked to him once the two of you returned to the entrance to the barrier hall. You gave him a warm smile, though you could imagine your face and eyes still showed hints of red due to your crying from moments ago. The calm silence of the throne room and the grey hall that laid after it had been filled with the sounds of clacking and something similar to construction work. The silence was filled with Frisk and whoever they brought with them working on breaking down the wall that separated you and the surface world. “This story has a happy ending, I’m sure of it.”

Flowey swallowed as he looked to you, but he simply nodded as you walked with Flowey closer towards the barrier “I believe you.” His comment was small, almost as if he were saying those words just to ease your nerves. Just to end the argument that had lasted for… what felt like… thirty-two chapters long in this  _ tale _ of his where you were the main character of a journey-long fiction. He wanted to get things moving, and so you would grant him this wish and get it going.

Just in the nick of time, with a light jump from surprise you saw a large rock fall from your side of the wall. This included the bits of shard glass that crumpled with it, the sound of light crystal trickling onto the plush earth reminded you of the generic sparkling effects you would hear in television shows or movies. After the large rock had broken down and fallen off, after it came a few more that started to widen a rather tiny hole. Peering through the hole, from a safe distance of course, you could see a familiar body shape. Lean, slender, but not at all thin or frail… not that you’ve ever seen them without any clothes on, but you often imagined that they were toned. If anything, it was their lightly tanned skin that brought the smile on your face.

 

Flowey tightened on you, and you reconfirmed to him gently “No matter what, alright?”

He mumbled faintly “No matter what.”

 

The hole was small, but it was wide enough to now shine a bright light into the darkness of the cavern, and it was wide enough for you to escape through. However before you could even push forward to crawl your way out, someone else climbed  _ in  _ instead. You took a few steps back as you laid witness to Frisk struggling through. It was dangerous, considering the glass that laid on the other side of the wall and ground—but they apparently managed just fine without a scratch.

Before reacting to your sight in any way, Frisk had turned around and peeked through the hole to the other side “Hold off a sec!” They shouted, before fully turning back around with a wide smile.

Honestly, Frisk was more emotive than you could remember. They had always been rather neutral, with their smiles being small and their frowns being solemn. Frisk’s attitude about everything had always been level-headed and neutral, and yet as of late you couldn’t help but notice you had brought out something else that had laid dormant for maybe a long  _ long _ time. Frisk’s bright smile at the sight of you seemed so abnormal, yet at the same time it was so welcoming. More than anything, you needed that happiness in your life. Frisk, after all, was officially an  _ amazing  _ friend to you. And with that quick moment of a smile that spread across their lips, Frisk rushed forward to greet you with wide open arms.

 

That is—until they recognized Flowey.

 

Flowey had winced and leaned back in preparation for the hug that you would be given, expecting to get crushed in between two humans embracing—but when it didn’t happen, Flowey had relaxed somewhat and returned to his wide-eyed stare at the Frisk he hadn’t seen in many years. The Frisk he hadn’t seen since they were probably about six or seven years old. The Frisk who returned the shocked and bewildered gaze.

The hug was paused because Frisk was probably unsure about what to do or say. You didn’t mind it, though. You dropped your arms once Frisk had dropped theirs, and instead they rubbed the back of their neck.

 

“Uh…” Frisk started, their bright smile from before wavered into that of a slimmer and more familiar one “Hi, Flowey. Long time no see…”

“Howdy.” Flowey’s returned the greeting somewhat begrudgingly, but at the same time Flowey’s eyes remained wide and scanning over Frisk’s form like a computer. It was no surprise though, you imagined you’d do the same yourself if it had been over twenty years since last seeing someone.

 

The fact that there was no longer wall cracking or hammering made the reunion all the more awkward, because there was no background noise whatsoever. The wild surroundings of grass, sunlight and earthly smells were soothing but at the same time felt so plain suddenly. You weren’t sure what to say to break the silence between the two of them, you weren’t sure if there was anything you could do to make things less tense. Frisk was never the type to feel embarrassed or shy, from what you remembered. Frisk was very stern and solid, if anything Frisk was the rock and you were the ocean that smashed into them constantly. So seeing Frisk frozen in place made you question everything that you had thought could possibly happen.

 

But, as if having waited for an invisible signal from somewhere, Frisk rushed forward like before with open arms. You weren’t prepared this time as they not only wrapped their arms around you tightly, but they had lowered themselves down to Flowey’s height to almost give a direct hug to  _ him _ instead of just you. It was like a hug for the both of you, but moreso for Flowey who squeezed your shoulder and arm in reaction to the hug he was receiving. You  _ and  _ Flowey both hesitated to return any of the given affection, Flowey seemed more than surprised and was even confused from the embrace. Flowey’s cheeks flared up from a sudden embarrassment, though you weren’t sure why he would be.

 

But Frisk suddenly mumbled  _ “I’m so sorry Flowey, for everything… I know you’d never believe me but I’m really sorry for all that I’ve done and am putting you through…” _

The apology was apparently well received, because Flowey’s shocked expression finally softened as he let his tendrils return the hug by wrapping around Frisk gently. Flowey didn’t say anything in return, he didn’t say things like  _ ‘I forgive you’ _ or  _ ‘how dare you’ _ , he simply replied to the apology with hugs of his own, and the hold was long, but also long overdue. It was a much needed reunion that you were personally proud you could share with them both, let alone you mentally patted yourself on the back for being the one to bring Flowey all this way just to meet Frisk again. If anything, you knew most definitely Frisk would help you both back to the surface soon and the two of them can rekindle what had been lost all those years ago.

 

The hold was long, and you were honestly starting to feel stiff as you squirmed in the hug. Realizing this, Frisk pulled away and let out a weak laugh, wiping away at their eyes as if trying to hide the tears they might’ve been forming “Sorry about that, I got carried away.”

 

“No, it’s fine, really.” You chuckled and shook your head, starting to get emotional yourself. Flowey’s embarrassed expression and moment of happiness had calmed then. As if a wave of melancholy had hit him, he returned to his neutral somewhat irritated look just as you finished with “We can all make amends and let bygones be bygones once we’re all out of here.”

 

Frisk sniffed, wiping at their eyes again as they blinked at you “What do you mean?”

 

Flowey’s dull expression didn’t change even as he looked to you now, the same confusion as Frisk had. The sudden attention you were getting for a natural comment made you feel somewhat tight in your chest area. Why did both of them look at you funny. You cleared your throat “What do you mean by  _ what do I mean _ ? Flowey’s… we’re both—“

“Fuckin’ Christ.” Flowey cursed. Though it was him mumbling low and to himself, the fact that he was looking right at you implied that he was annoyed at how dumb you could be. Of course things wouldn’t be that easy, that’s why Flowey enjoyed the momentary hug and then went neutral when the hug was finished. Because  _ he knew that this changed nothing _ .

“Um… I’m sorry you misunderstood.” Frisk clarified, backing away from the both of you as they finally finished gaining their composure from the emotional hug “Flowey’s still staying down here… he’s not allowed to leave.”

 

“Are you kidding me?!” You didn’t hesitate to snap, and the sudden yell caused both Frisk and Flowey to jump. You furrowed your brows and pointed at Frisk out of sheer anger that they would act like this even after having apologized to Flowey for everything “If Flowey isn’t leaving then I’m not either!”

 

“Be reasonable.” Frisk’s sad expression had been wiped clean, their signature and suddenly  _ annoying  _ neutral face was planted on their features as they looked to you with simple brown eyes “I already explained all of this to you back when we last talked, remember? I can’t just let Flowey out—“

 

Frisk wore a pair of brown khaki shorts, long socks that rolled over the tops of the steel-toed boots that matched your own, and what looked to be a long sleeved navy blue shirt with deep magenta pink stripes along it. The only reason you noted their outfit at a time like this was because the clothing looked worn, torn, and covered in plenty of dirt. It was a symbol that Frisk worked  _ really hard  _ just to get the wall down, and just to break a hole in to crawl through to bring you to safety.

But that’s what upset you the most! Frisk went out of their way to save you but would STILL leave and abandon Flowey!

 

“I can’t leave Flowey!” You simply reiterate and even stomp your foot. You probably looked like a child throwing a tantrum, but you didn’t care. Your eyes were starting to fill with tears, mostly fueled by the fear from earlier when you couldn’t find FLowey… but now they had even more fuel thanks to Frisk still being  _ heartless _ and the sheer thought of waking up in your apartment alone. The power of friendship could only do so much, it was LOVE that you needed, too! “I’m not going to leave without him, so either take us BOTH or leave us BOTH!”

 

“Then this is goodbye.” Frisk didn’t even take a moment to think it over. Frisk shook their head as they took a few steps back, already preparing to leave.

 

You sniffed, the tears falling down your face as you whispered between clenched teeth “ _ You’re so soulless…!” _

 

“ **STOP BEING AN IDIOT!!** ” Flowey suddenly intervened with a shout. And for a moment, you kept your teary-eyed stare at Frisk even when the other human had stopped backing away towards the wall. You were so certain that Flowey was yelling at Frisk, that you didn’t even look in his direction. But of course you were corrected when Flowey then added “ **JUST LOOK AT ME!!** ”

From the demand, you did as you were told, looking at your shoulder where Flowey still clung to you. The flower’s stare was intense, his own invisible brows were as knitted together as yours were in a fit of anger. But unfortunately for you, it was anger at  _ your  _ actions and not Frisk’s. For some reason, Flowey didn’t seem as pissed off at Frisk as you did.

“Listen to me! For  _ once _ in that stubborn head of yours, just  **LISTEN!!** ” Flowey shouted again, and you swallowed back your pride and courage. You gave a weak nod, lifting your arm to wipe at your eyes. He took a moment to start, as if waiting for you to try and calm down… but of course you weren’t calming down. You were starting to shake and hiccup like before when you bawled your eyes out searching for him. You were so certain that there would be a happy ending for you both, but here you were… screaming at Frisk to let you both go, and Frisk not budging even a little bit.

“Don’t throw your WHOLE LIFE away just for me!” Flowey finally continued, his voice never faltering or shaking, he wasn’t breaking down like you were probably because this whole time he simply  _ knew _ that he wouldn’t make it. That’s what hurt the most to you, you had hope this whole time but he never did “I love you, okay? That’s more than enough—more than anything I’ve ever felt—and more than I could ask from you or  _ anyone _ in my  _ entire life. _ What I thought I would find in Chara once… what I thought I would find in Frisk… what I thought I would find in anyone it just never came…”

 

With those words, Flowey finally tore his eyes from you to gaze over to Frisk, who still stood their ground silently. They even dared to fold their arms across their chest, as if suddenly impatient over everything. As if you and Flowey were a waste of time—how could Frisk appear so  _ cold  _ suddenly?

 

“ _ …but with you… _ ” Flowey continued, their vines suddenly entangling themselves around your hands and between your fingers. He held your hands so gently and carefully as if you could easily break, he cherished you “…and your patience… kindness… your  _ everything… _ you showed me what it really felt like to love and  _ be loved.  _ And I know that if I can’t feel anything  _ ever again _ for  _ anybody _ … I will _ always _ feel love for you.” He gave you a sweet smile, a smile that made your tears pour like waterfalls all over again as you sniffed. You were such an ugly crier, and you knew you were… but you wanted to hear him tell you those words again.

“That love won’t change for a thousand years.” Flowey finished.

 

Frisk suddenly cleared their throat.

 

You and Flowey both turned to look at them, whose eyes showed that familiar tint of red. It was that tint that you recalled seeing the moment you argued about wanting to explore the Underground and they continuously refused to allow it. That sudden anger.

 

You wanted to kiss Flowey now… it was the perfect moment, but instead Frisk pushed out their voice “This makes sense now.”

 

You sniffed “What makes sense?”

 

“Why you’re so  _ determined _ to keep Flowey around.” The ambassador didn’t change their stance, they remained looking impatient… even more so with a red gleam in their eye “This is why you think Flowey had a change of heart and is suddenly a  _ good  _ guy? Because he’s  _ lying  _ and saying he’s a whole new  _ person?  _ Because he’s telling you he  _ loves you  _ and is pretending to be a  _ daisy?  _ He’s obviously tricking you, you know.”

You’re absolutely shocked at this, taken aback and even going as far as touching your chest and gasping from the sudden accusation. Even Flowey tightened his hold on you and your hands, his own expression showing signs of hurt as Frisk continued “It’s easy to fall for someone if you’re used to them being someone else. And it’s even harder to let them go because… you’re so certain their this other person, but—“

 

“Flowey was NEVER anyone else other than Flowey!” You snapped, tearing your hand away from Flowey’s vines just to point at Frisk “Frisk, you’re just too stuck on a  _ promise  _ that you NEED to move on from! You need to learn to let people go! That’s your problem—you’re so wrapped up in this fairytale of Flowey being someone he isn’t and having to keep the promise of someone whose long since—“

 

“What are you doing?” Frisk interrupted with a sigh “Trying to show off all you learned since falling down here? This is why I said you weren’t allowed down here in the first place, because you simply can’t handle everything… You could never understand, you don’t know what to do with all this information and now you have some need, like some  _ little kid _ , to babble on about everything you’ve found out.” Frisk glanced to Flowey “And you can’t handle  _ him. _ ” They looked back to you and almost glared, their eyes for a moment had returned to that gentle yet intense chocolate brown “This is just the hard way of you having to realize why we follow rules. Rules are made to keep everyone  _ safe _ .”

 

“Frisk…!” You grunt, huffing under your breath as your tears ran hot. They felt like they were boiling over your face at this point, you had been crying for so long you were starting to run dry. This was the first time you ever argued this harshly with Frisk, let alone over someone you loved. Frisk didn’t know your story as much as you now knew theirs, so you were starting to understand why Frisk couldn’t put two and two together. You took in a deep breath to try and calm yourself, Frisk was the perfect example of staying calm and collected even in heated arguments. You, on the other hand, were a sobbing emotional mess that needed to learn to relax even if someone else was upsetting you. You had to connect with Frisk, you couldn’t keep countering them. “Frisk… I understand what it’s like to cling to someone that left you.”

Frisk’s eyes widened, their brown orbs had once more taken on a red hue, but they seemed intrigued from your suddenly calm approach. You sighed heavily “It hurts  _ so much _ . You feel betrayed, but at the same time you try to hold on to anything and everything that they might’ve left behind. You cling to what’s left of them because that’s all you know and that’s all you’re  _ used to _ . I  _ know  _ what that’s like, please trust me when I say that.”

The thoughts of your best friend ran through your head. The fear of befriending others, the fear of letting her go… but to live life more happily you had to break boundaries that you set for yourself. You have to punch out of your safe place once in a while. As if Frisk knew you two connected in that manner, even they seemed to frown at your words. They might not’ve known about your best friends disappearance, but they were there with you when your parents disowned you. They seemed to console you, even if just slightly, with their red gaze as you continued “But in the end, it’s healthier for yourself and everyone around you to  _ move  _ on and keep those good memories intact.” You closed your eyes and relaxed more, letting your chest take a few gentle breaths “Frisk, we’re more alike than you think… and I just know that…” You reopened your eyes to smile “Deep down you—“

Frisk’s eyes were glowing then. The warm sun that streaked the air and pierced the cave didn’t seem warm enough suddenly to counter the cold and cruel stare that Frisk was giving you. They were dead silent as they stared at you, not even with furrowed brows or any sort of emotional reaction from your speech. As if the sadness they felt from your words had been wiped away clean. You had tried to sway Frisk, but from how it looked, you instead shocked them enough to freeze them in place. Their eyes were stabbing your very being, and you weren’t sure how to feel. But the fact that they remained unresponsive still, you weren’t sure what to say, either.

 

“Frisk…” You tried again, sighing and swallowing down the lump forming in your throat “I’m not leaving here without Flowey. Even some of Ms. Muffet’s spiders had been left behind… there was even this  _ amalgamate _ dog in Alphys’ old lab… I brought it’s ashes because I didn’t realize it couldn’t survive the light and needed dark places… but who knows who else is down here waiting for an escape because they were forgotten?” You remove your bag from your back to open it up, picking up the small wrapping of ash from the monster of the lab “The most precious dog, Frisk… honestly it deserves happiness just like everyone else.”

 

Frisk was still silently staring you down, it almost felt like they were dealing with a trauma or trigger of sorts. You nervously set the ashes back in your backpack.

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you?!” Flowey finally butted in, snapping and loosening his grip on your body just to use his vines like hands “Why are you suddenly so cold?! I don’t remember you being like this! What the  **FUCK** happened to that pipsqueak who freed all the monsters?!”

 

“That kid still exists.” Frisk finally muttered, their red eyes never changing, their piercing gaze never leaving yours “I can’t just so easily break a promise.”

 

“That’s a promise to someone whose been dead for  _ years  _ now!” Flowey retorted with a heavy sigh. He wasn’t fighting for himself, it was obvious at this point. But you still appreciated that he was fighting for your sake, because he realized you were much happier on the surface. Either way, he knew you would stay beside him, but now he was just hoping to get you back home “Move the hell ON, Frisk!”

 

“Flowey’s not Asriel!” You agreed with Flowey and tried to include yourself in the conversation, trying your best not to give up just yet. You were DETERMINED “Flowey’s his own person, and Asriel is someone else and we all have to lay the prince to rest!” You lowered your gaze, Flowey doing the same as you sighed lightly “Asriel’s… not coming back—“

 

A sudden whistle cracked the air, causing you to lift your head just in time to spot a glistening knife fly through the breeze. You jumped back, barely reacting fast enough to dodge the knife, and holding your breath at how it had almost pierced your foot. Steel toed boots were still a savior in disguise, but the fact that it could have done some damage made you lift your gaze quickly. Flowey did the same, and the two of you returned the shocked stare at Frisk, who had one arm out and the other pulled back and bent as if they were a cowboy reaching for their holster.

 

Frisk had one eye closed, and their other was open wide and flaring red. They were crouched, obviously expressing a position of having thrown the weapon in question. You weren’t sure how to even respond at the attack from someone you were ready to call ‘friend’. “Frisk—did you—!”

 

“ **SHUT UP!!** ” Frisk suddenly shouted. Their face showed concern, their eye brows raised then and they finally brought their hands up to grip at their hair. Shrieking, Frisk started yelling at the top of their lungs, as if they were going insane. As if trying to ignore some sort of power taking control “ **SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!! JUST SHUT UP!!** ”

Frisk was breaking down, they gripped and tugged on either side of their dark brown hair, disheveling it as they used their arms to hide their face and yanked themselves back against the wall. You watched them slam themselves against it, but the shards of the barrier didn’t seem to affect them like you feared. They were beating themselves up as they screamed and cried into their arms, hiding their face from view. Their shrieking was almost breaking your own mental barriers down, as if their cries were driving you into insanity as you felt your head throb from the pounding. Watching Frisk lash around as if an invisible force was fighting to control them, it was scary and terrifying.

“ **FRISK STOP!** ” You yelled, trying to get through to them. But they interrupted again with another demand “ **SHUT THE FUCK UP!!** ”

But almost instantly, they breathed heavily “ **I hate you.** ”

 

They dropped their arms then, their stance somewhat sloppy as they leaned back and stared up at the ceiling of the cavern. Almost like a wind up doll waiting for their key to be cranked, they stood there in such a strange and weird position, it looked uncomfortable and yet they stood as still as possible. After a moment of staring at Frisk’s chest lifting and collapsing, trying to regain more air after their scream session, they robotically hunched forward, before restancing themselves and straightening their back. They revealed their deep frown and blaring red eyes again. Swiftly, they grasped their hip and pulled out a rather large kitchen knife, their face flustered pink from their tears and streaks of dirt from the fight with themselves. You weren’t sure what you had witnessed, but it was enough to get Frisk to now aim a sharp weapon at both you and Flowey. You raised your hands defensively, and Flowey’s vines tightened on you as Frisk breathed out again “ **I hate you.** I hate you both  _ so _ much. You two are the worst things that could have ever happened—“

 

“Frisk—!“ You started, shaking your head. You weren’t sure how to feel, you were mixed with dread, horror, and an adrenaline to survive. You wanted more than anything to be Frisk’s friend, you were regretting having taken this long to show them that they mattered to you “You don’t mean that! We’re—we’re friends! I know it hurts, I know what you’re going through please believe me! But you have to—y-you have to let Asriel go and this isn’t the solution to—!”

 

“If I am here, what makes you think Asriel is no longer with us?” Frisk’s voice had suddenly changed, as if they were a different person all together. Their stance didn’t change nor falter from your words, they stood strong in holding the blade out to face you, as if one false move would send it thrown at your head. They breathed heavily, panting to recover from the fit of rage they had moments ago that they now contained well enough to speak properly. But their last words came out as a growl, almost snarling at the sheer idea of what you had tried to tell them. Honestly, you weren’t even sure if you were speaking with Frisk anymore.

 

“Asriel is not gone… because I am not,  _ either. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > This is [the end.](https://youtu.be/Y2Ow3eqFbLg?list=PLK3Sz70rHZaglkiqvrYKsmYyZb9YZgzdB)  
> 


	33. We Let Healing Amend It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A stray tear fell down their face, and they breathed out shakily “Do you not see now why I must do this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Time to get comfortable.
> 
> >I hope yall noticed me shoving the makeshift PLAYGROUND playlist in the last chapter XD I worked hard on it!(no i didnt I literally just clicked "ADD TO PLAYLIST" everytime i heard a song that sounded relatable), feel free to listen to the soothing sounds of FRESH FAST BEATS while reading! By all means, also feel free to suggest songs to me in the comments if you'd like to hear a recommendation of yours possibly added!
> 
> >EDIT:: 10K HITS HOLY SHIT FUCKIN JESUS FLOWEY CHRIST SDALWKHJDMNALKMWLDAK  
> >EDIT EDIT:: Tags updated! Added a bunch for Frisk

###  **Chapter Thirty-Three:** ** _We Let Healing Amend It_**

“Now then...” Frisk’s arm was steady, their posture upright and fixed almost mechanically. They looked rather poised, as if they were well trained in the combat technique they were about to show you; the art of cutlery “You. Drop the _plant_ and we both may leave. The Underground is no place for—“

 

“You’re making a huge mistake.” You tried your best to stand your ground as well, to look as tough and firm as Frisk did… but it wasn’t exactly working. One thing out of this whole adventure that you’ve gathered was how painful death was. It didn’t matter if you had the power of coming back to life, the thought of being killed still sent shivers down your spine. You still had that fear deep in your gut that told you to avoid it at all cost—you weren’t fearless whatsoever like Frisk seemed to be, but that only made sense.

 

Frisk could reset at any time they wanted. _You_ , however, could not.

 

“Frisk, this isn’t like you!” You didn’t even do as you were told; you were so busy keeping your hands up in defense. The last thing you wanted was to make a false move and send the knife flying at you or Flowey’s head “You’re not this violent—you’re not this angry—!”

 

“Oh, so you _know_ who I _am?_ ” Frisk lightly cocked their head to the side as if confused, though their expression was neutral even as their eyes burned like fire “What do you know. Out of the goodness of my _soul_ I decided to come rescue you even _after_ you broke instruction. For as long as we have _known_ one another you have yet to bother trying to get to _know me._ So, if you may… tell me _what you know_ to clarify exactly what you believe I am capable of _._ ” Suddenly Frisk gave a wide grin, but since it was paired with bright red eyes it looked almost menacing “I thought I knew you as well but, apparently I do not know _anything_ about you. Other than, well…” They chuckled dryly “You apparently have a fondness for _flora_.”

 

You swallowed, unsure about how to defend yourself from the lecture. Of course Frisk was right. Frisk had done more than try to get close to you over the years that you two had known each other. Frisk, and even their _family,_ had helped you through school when your parents abandoned you, and you never repaid them _or_ returned the kindness. You kept moving forward with your life alone, using Frisk like they were a convenience store just to land a job and start your career. _They_ were the one who never gave up on you— _Frisk_ was the one who would invite you out even though they _knew_ you would always say no. _Frisk_ was the one that tried again and _again_ to be your friend… but like everyone else, you kept shutting them down and out like they were more of a bother. Frisk didn’t know anything about you because _you wouldn’t let them._

 

“I-I’m sorry…” You mumbled, though it was too soft for Frisk to hear, because they simply ignored you and continued with their own words “I digress, both of you are behaving inappropriately and outlandishly. Do not disrespect my sibling, watch your tongue…” Their knife finally wavered, though only to drop down at their side “And let us get going.”

 

“ _No matter what…_ ” You stammered slightly, feeling your bravery and courage waver in your throat. It was lodged as if hard to swallow what you were about to say, which was horribly saddening because you were afraid of someone you had known for well over a simple few years “I’m _not_ leaving here without Flowey. No matter what you say or do, you can’t change my mind. I know all that we’ve been through isn’t enough to prove how much I care about you, Frisk… and I know you care about me too and my well-being but…” You gulped as if drinking water, even though it had turned into the opposite. In fact, you felt like you were swallowing sand from how sore and dry your mouth and throat were becoming “Out of all that’s happened to me since falling down here, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned more about you, more about all the hundreds to thousands of sacrifice’s you’ve made, and how many sacrifice’s the monsters have made to get where we are today. I’ve learned so much about you and everyone, and I’ve learned so much about myself. But most importantly, Frisk… I’ve learned to _love._ I’ve learned to love and I’ve learned to let go… And above all else, I’ll fight for who I love.” You swallowed down more sand that caused you to hoarsely breathe out “And I love Flowey.”

Flowey wasn’t saying much in this verbal fight. Flowey’s grip remained tight around you, confirming he hadn’t ran off, but he was still silently staring at Frisk with his own neutral expression. As if disoriented by everything that was happening, maybe not even realizing it was happening. You had proclaimed your love in defense of Flowey many times in the argument at this point, maybe he was even starting to realize how un-swayed Frisk was. But when you gave him a quick glance, he returned the favor and both your eyes locked onto one another’s. There was a soft light in Flowey’s tiny orbs that indicated he felt every bit of what you had said, and he was grateful for your words.

 

The arm that wielded the knife had fully lowered, Frisk even bothered putting it away back in its holder “Very well then.” Was all they had said as they began to back away more towards the hole in the wall. The hole that would lead to your escape back to the surface. When Frisk left, would they simply reseal the hole? Would they try to make sure you would suffer the same fate as Flowey?

But at this point, you knew that you couldn’t imagine life without Flowey by your side anymore. So if you would have to live forever in the Underground with him, then so be it.

 

“Even if you choose to leave…” You managed with a quick breath, managing to catch Frisk’s attention. They let their red eyes glance directly into your own eyes as you furrowed your brows. Flowey looked back to you again, quickly shaking his head. He knew fully well what you were about to say next, something you wanted to remind Frisk, something that was important. It had to be done, Frisk needed to learn to _move on_ just like you did “Even if you choose to leave us… Asriel _deserves_ to rest and not be used as some… some _excuse_ to keep Flowey trapped away.”

 

From the corner of your eye, Flowey used a leaf to perform a facepalm.

 

Frisk’s eyes widened “ _Excuse me?_ ”

 

You gritted your teeth, still somewhat shaking from your nerves breaking down before Frisk. You couldn’t let Frisk keep running around like they were doing all of this for a greater cause. They were strictly doing this for the sake of a friend—and as much as it made sense to you, you also knew now that it was time to let the dead move forward with their lives as much as the living “I didn’t stutter—“ You dared to protest as you took in a deep breath, just so you could try and keep your tone straightforward “You need to let Asriel go, and you know I’m right. If you learn anything out of this, and if we never meet or see each other again… just know that you didn’t do all this because of _Asriel,_ you did this for yourself.”

 

“ **FRISK~?!** ” A familiar high pitched voice sounded from the other side of the wall, as if singing the human’s name like a melody. Not as muffled as the voices earlier, probably due to the hole “What is taking you so **LONG?!** Will I have to send in the _numb_ skull here?”

                   “Crawling in my skin amirite.” Another voice finished.

                              The other voice shouted out in protest against the rather emo-kid joke “ **_SANS~!!_ ** ”

 

Flowey seemed to perk up just a bit, but only to mumble the name of the voice he had heard. It was obvious who it was, but for some reason Flowey sounded almost happy to silently announce _“It’s Papyrus…”_

 

The skelebros’ voices intervening in your last words to Frisk seemed to thankfully distract your mind enough to help your nerves calm down. You watched a hooded figure move in the way of the hole that Frisk and the others had made in the wall, with their hands in their pockets as casual as can be. While a face couldn’t exactly be seen, it was obvious who it was. The hoodie’s design had one arm sleeve a bright cyan blue, while the other sleeve was a dark grey patterned with black polka dots. The main portion of the hoodie was a simple white, however adorned with yellow trimmings; like the laces for the hood and the waistband. It was obviously Sans, since the short skeleton always preferred clothing larger than himself from what you recalled. It had been awhile since you had last seen him in person, but it was unmistakable that it was definitely him.

 

In the flesh, _so to speak._

 

“Do I gotta come in there?” You heard the punny bro ask. Obviously it was directed towards Frisk, who was right by the hole and still staring at you. “Sounds like a lotta commotion goin’ on…”

“ **YEAH HURRY THE HELL UP,** ** _PUNK!!_** _”_ A female voice that spontaneously erupted made you almost jump. The voice wasn’t strictly feminine, but almost stressed and rough. Undyne had joined, too? It was like a whole reunion outside, and your whole being was itching to greet everyone. You were completely torn between making a run for it, or even calling for help. But unfortunately for you, they were more so Frisk’s friends than yours, since you never bothered to open up to any of them like Frisk had. Undyne was intimidating, but she was still someone you’d like to get to know, just like everyone else.

 

But no matter how confusing or perplexed your feelings were getting… Frisk still stood their ground and gawked at you like you had an alien stuck to your face.

“This will only take a second more.” Frisk spoke sternly, their expression finally relaxing to its neutral appearance again. Their eyes were still wide and glimmering red… they were still rather scary considering you could’ve sworn Frisk’s eyes were brown. They shifted their stance, once again returning to threatening you with a hand wavering over their holster that held their blade “Please reiterate. Be so kind as to approach me and say it to my _face_ once again so I can understand more _clearly_ —“

 

That was definitely a trap. If you got to close you easily envisioned Frisk shanking your forehead.

 

“Frisk…” You weren’t sure what to do. A part of you was already prepared to give in. You wanted to escape, you wanted to live with Flowey on the surface… but at what cost? You shook your head and took a step back, trying to imply you would be retreating “Forget it… I’m sorry this had ever happened… I’ll stay down here with Flowey if—“

 

“Are you dumb _and_ deaf?” Frisk cocked their head to the side “After all of this… do you _honestly_ think I would let that _thing_ live on and defile my siblings name? Oh, how quaint.”

 

Flowey’s grip only tightened, but now it was getting out of hand. The vines were so tight that your whole arm was beginning to feel numb. Frisk didn’t give either of you a chance to speak anymore, because suddenly Frisk turned their head back towards the hole “Sans, could you please join me for a moment?”

 

“ _Shit._ ” Flowey mumbled, just as you were already trying to use your free arm to loosen Flowey’s tight grasp. You weren’t exactly sure what the big deal was about Sans joining them, maybe another perspective would help change Frisk’s mind about all this? But Flowey looked pissed off from Frisk’s sudden request.

 

Frisk stepped out the way of the entrance, though their eyes were fixed on yours. You knew they were simply making way for Sans to step through—but instead, there was a faint and quick _‘sure, kid’_ reply and then a sudden bright flash of light.

 

You blinked, and out of the blue, Sans was right next to Frisk.

 

The skeleton was rather short compared to Frisk’s height, but he was still stocky and somewhat thick in the bone area. Now that his whole body was visible, you saw that he paired his fashionable hoodie with striped sporty shorts and… well… socks and some pink fuzzy slippers. You didn’t know how he climbed in so fast, but no one else seemed to react to the bright light and speed of his movements like you did. Flowey and Frisk both continued their intense stares, Frisk beginning to glare at you and Flowey glaring in Frisk and Sans’ direction… while you were left baffled and Sans was left shrugging casually.

 

“Sup. Nice seein’ ya again. How long’s it been, a month?”

 

You could tell his sentence was directed at you, obviously. He hadn’t seen Flowey in probably as long as Frisk had… and of course he saw Frisk probably every single day—so who else could he be talking to? You swallowed down your nerves, quickly waving your hand to Sans who simply winked at the greeting. You gave a nervous smile “Hey Sans… maybe you can uh… shed some light on all of this. Frisk’s kind of—“

 

“Watch the entryway so that no one else gets _in_ or _out._ ” Frisk interrupted your thought process with their actual reason for involving Sans; apparently it was to now make certain that neither you or Flowey could escape or run. Though if anything, you felt that Frisk was more so aiming towards killing Flowey than you, and was now plotting to force you out of the Underground once Flowey was removed.

 

Sans opened both of his eyes and let the tiny white orbs shift to Frisk’s direction. It was always bizarre watching Sans and Papyrus ‘emote’ in ways that human skeletons couldn’t. They could smile, they could look nervous, they could blink and wink, and they apparently also had small white lights in their eye sockets that were used like pupils. Though a wide grin was stuck on his face, it was obvious Sans seemed unsure about Frisk’s demands “ _Que?_ ”

Flowey was suppressing the urge to hiss, though a growl still emitted from his stem. Sans’ attention went back to you and Flowey, and he simply gave another wink “Hey there, stranger. Paps seems to fancy you, for some reason or another. With that whole… _Flower Fanclub_ thing.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know me, _trash bag!_ ” Flowey pointed his leaf aggressively. The all too familiar nickname that you hadn’t heard of since arriving in Snowdin made you jump. Sans shrugged, his hands being removed from his hoodie pockets to reveal the boney fingers “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, flower. I never met you before in my life.” Sans then tucked his hands back into his pockets and glanced elsewhere “Or maybe it’s just _this life, eh?_ Who knows?” He cleared his throat “Say though, _human who ain’t Frisk,_ what’re ya doin’ with that weed stuck to your shirt?”

 

“L-Long story.” You swallowed. For some reason, you connected Sans’ eyes to the hall of Judgement from earlier. There was something about his stare and his presence at this moment in time that didn’t exactly feel as relaxed as he played off. Sans held the demeanor of someone who could care less about many things… but at the same time, it was as if he were judging your actions. But then again, who wouldn’t judge you for being intimate with a flower at this point? You couldn’t explain anything to him right now, since even Frisk had looked to Sans like he were more of a nuisance than helpful. If anything, you would tell him the story as a means of distracting Frisk—but Frisk was prepared.

 

“Sans.” Frisk repeated solemnly “Do it.”

 

“Ya sure, kid?” Sans asked, but was already moving himself off to the side. Now both Frisk and Sans stood on either side of the hole in the wall, almost beckoning you to leap through and save yourself. Taunting you, like they were giving you a moment to figure out what you truly wanted. Frisk didn’t even respond immediately to Sans, and instead shifted their gaze back at you as if your thought process was correct. Giving you that moment to think about what was next for you.

And all you could do was stand very still, with a deep frown on your face. Either way, no matter what happened… Flowey was going to die. Whether you chose to leave or chose to stay, Frisk was DETERMINED to kill him.

 

Your time was up. Frisk looked back to Sans “Quite certain.”

 

“Ah…” Sans let one of his eyes close, not much like a wink but more so as if trying to focus. Suddenly the eye flared, a deep blue flame flickered just as he lifted one hand back out from his hoodie pocket “Do what ya gotta do, aye, kid?”

 

With a flick of the skeleton’s wrists, and a sudden shake of the earth, white material emerged from the dirt in front of the hole that lead to the surface. The materials that erupted were… bones. Sans had summoned bones from the ground and not just any bones—they looked _a lot_ similar to ribs that jailed you and the others inside, and kept the other monsters out on the surface to keep them from climbing in to see what the commotion was about. The summoning had caused the ground to shake a bit, but when it had all subsided, Sans’ burning eye had calmed as he once again shifted his stance. He returned to standing in front of the hole.

“This will be quick.” Frisk tried to confirm, as if having to reassure Sans for something. Sans gave Frisk a look, a silent smile… though you couldn’t tell if the smile was true or not, before he lowered his gaze down to the ground “Sure, kid.”

The gaze Frisk gave to Sans lasted longer than expected. As if there was some sort of secret the two shared that caused Frisk to note the change in Sans’ personality. Sans didn’t even question what Frisk meant by _quick,_ or even ask for a reason as to block out the exit. Sans simply did as Frisk asked without question; either due to having pure faith in Frisk’s actions, or being held down by something. But after the longer than normal stare Frisk gave to Sans, who still wasn’t returning the gaze, Frisk returned their attention to you. Their eyes seemed brighter than a few moments ago.

 

“My brother is _not_ dead.” Frisk started now leaving the hole and Sans behind as they started to move forward “And so long as he is alive, I will keep my promise to protect him from _himself_. From his form known as…” Their stare shifted from you to Flowey, who stiffened from the gaze “Flowey the flower.”

Sans finally lifted his eyes to also stare at you and Flowey. The solemn look that was plastered on his face seemed gone, even if he still looked naturally content.

“And I will protect everyone that Flowey may ever harm—“ Frisk said with a sigh, closing their eyes as if taking a moment to meditate “I made a promise to not only protect my sibling, but I must also protect all of Monsterkind, to keep everyone from another catastrophe. And Sans is here to…” Frisk seemed to suddenly grow nervous, and for a moment their red eyes had flickered. Like candles, they blew out and revealed the hazel eyes underneath “…to make sure I don’t go overboard. I—“ Frisk blinked, furrowing their brows as they glared at the ground “In this world, there’s no more RESETS. You live and face your consequences.” Frisk looked towards Sans, whose smile suddenly looked almost forlorn as Frisk commented faintly “Monsters and humans live in peace, everything’s been restored and everyone’s happy—and the only one that has a way of interfering with all of this is Flowey.”

Frisk looked back to you and Flowey then, in a swift motion they whipped out their knife and twirled it between their fingers rapidly before pointing it towards you in one act. How quick they were with the blade and how steady it had become after all that moving around left you speechless. Frisk was surprisingly talented with the weapon, all the more reason to fear them as they spoke again, their eyes once more red as blood “It is my duty to protect all of humanity as it is to protect all of Monsterkind. At this point, Flowey is a threat to your life and now I must fulfill my duties as Ambassador and remove him.”

 

“Fine.” Flowey finally let go of you. But only so he could completely detach and plant himself into the earth. He slinked his roots into the dirt and began to sprout out, stretching to make himself larger.

You shook your head in protest, quickly stepping in front of Flowey “Wait—no this is not _‘fine’!_ ” You turned your back to Frisk and glared at Flowey, who now reached your height. His stem had grown thicker from the transformation, and he was already beginning to let vines start to crawl all along the cave walls, like he was gathering energy from the vegetation surrounding him. He didn’t hesitate to let another vine wrap around your legs as you tried to reason “No one has to fight! We don’t have to do this—let’s just—Flowey we can just run! You and me! We can—“

The vine that had started wrapping around your legs was finally surrounding you, your legs were completely constricted as if you were a merman with a fishtail. Flowey simply mumbled as he gave your legs a soft squeeze “No more running.” Before twirling you carefully out of the way. You span off to the side, becoming somewhat dizzy and lightheaded. You almost tumbled down on your butt, however Flowey was also quick to make a chair out of leaves to break your fall, before delicately setting you down on the ground. Flowey scoffed as he now directed his attention to Frisk, who was already lifting their blade up and pointing it at the flower.

“I know what I’m capable of.” Flowey started, looking off to the side at you quickly “They’ve helped me learn to control myself. I’ve learned a lot while they were down here, a few things being that they can handle themselves _just fine_ , and they don’t need protection from anyone…” The golden flower returned his gaze to Frisk, Flowey’s eyes suddenly hallowing out and turning into intimidating pits of darkness. His mouth jagged, mutated teeth and fangs started to puncture their way out of his lips as he started to create a horrifying and rather intimidating facial expression “If anything, they need protection from _you_ and your stupid ass, Frisk!”

 

Flowey finished with a heavy sigh “Take it from me, I had trouble letting things go too…”

 

“Save it for another tale, Flowey.” Frisk commented, before lunging forward. Frisk didn’t even hesitate, and as if they were a warrior defending a king, their blade was fluid with their arm and hand like it had taken them years to master what skills they performed. Frisk was quick to stretch and try to slice at Flowey, making cross motions directed at Flowey’s chest area. But Flowey being the plant that he was easily dodged the swift actions by tucking, weaving, and quickly slinking into the ground. Flowey re-emerged right near Sans. Which, for a moment, seemed like a grave mistake.

 

“Flowey—!” You shouted, standing up to your feet finally and giving Sans a pleading look “Can’t you do something?!”

 

“I could—“ Sans started, his eye flaring up with its blue flame as he glanced to the enlarged Flowey. Flowey gave Sans a shocked look, but Frisk suddenly yelled to intervene “No! This is _my_ battle!”

You didn’t mean for Sans to interfere in fighting _against_ Flowey, but in the end you were secretly thankful that Frisk wouldn’t let Sans join in on it. Sans calmed down as instructed and gave a little shrug “ ‘kay.”

 

“That’s not what I meant!” You said quickly, just as Frisk lunged for Flowey once more to now do a thrusting action with the large kitchen knife. Flowey moved out the way just in time, but also retaliated by using a vine to quickly wrap around Frisk’s leg and lift them in the air. Frisk grunted from the sudden yank, their body dangling as they struggled to escape the hold. Flowey breathed out “Isn’t it funny how the tables have turned?” His voice sounded animalistic, almost like a literal demon from hell had taken over his voice box “ _You’re_ the one who taught me _MERCY_ and yet here you are, trying to _murder me_.”

 

Frisk grimaced, their face going red from being held upside down. The blood was obviously rushing to their head as they tried to lift themselves up and reach the vine that held their leg in the air. You were thankful Flowey wasn’t taking this moment to hurt Frisk, but Frisk was still struggling and swinging their knife around like an angry animal.

Frisk huffed out “Less talking…” With a heavy grunt, Frisk finally lifted up just enough to—“And more _putting me down!_ ” –slice their blade right through Flowey’s tendril.

 

And Flowey hissed out, and like a cut snake the tendril wriggled and made rather grotesque noises all on its own as Frisk was dropped with a heavy thud onto the ground. They were quick to recover however; the drop helped them tumble and rest in a kneeling position. Flowey’s vine quickly sank back into the earth, though what looked similar to a green mucus-like blood remained in the dirt from whence it came as the golden flower snarled from the pain “What the **FUCK!!** ”

 

“Frisk!” You yelled, covering your mouth from the sight of what had happened “Stop!”

 

Frisk wiped their forehead with their arm sleeve, their bangs were beginning to stick to their skin probably from how much movement they were doing in such a tightly closed space. Frisk ignored you just as much as they ignored Flowey, and as much as Flowey was ignoring you. Both of them were dead set on destroying each other, and Sans was simply standing around without a care in the world.

 

“ **SANS!!** ” You shouted once more for his attention, and he finally returned it. You glared at him “Stop them! They’re going to kill each other!”

“Frisk said that was the point.” Sans commented dryly. The lights in his eyes had died out, it was rather creepy not knowing where he was looking anymore “Look, kid. This’s for the best. I know ya got some _weird thing_ goin’ on with Flowey, but it’s best ta let things happen as they were meant to.” With that, he turned his head away from you, leaving you distraught as he sighed out heavily “Now _deal with it._ ”

 

You couldn’t believe how cruel Sans was. All that you thought about him didn’t seem to be true at all; Sans was more cold and intimidating than you had expected him to be. When he wanted to interfere before, it was only so that he could hurt Flowey himself—and now he was sitting back and watching as Frisk and Flowey smacked and lunged at each other.

Flowey was doing his best to dodge and maneuver around Frisk’s blows, and Frisk was mainly focused on actually trying to fight. As much as you admired that Flowey had come a long way from deciding to kill and hurt people… you knew that if he didn’t fight back, he would die.

 

You didn’t want things to go down this path. All you really wanted from everything you had experienced was a happy ending; a happy ending for _everyone_ . But now your friend and your… well, _boyfriend_ were fighting and you weren’t sure what to do to stop it from happening. Just like before, you were once more upset enough to start crying. The tears couldn’t be held back any longer from the stress and pressure, let alone the fear of losing one person or the other. You tried so hard to make everyone happy, but now fate was testing you to choose a side. Would you let Flowey kill Frisk? Or would you let Frisk kill Flowey? Sans wasn’t helpful whatsoever, and even ignored your whimpering pleas as you sniffled and wiped feverishly at your eyes.

 

Flowey was growing tired just as much as Frisk, his own sweat appeared like drops of rain on his face and petals as he used a newly healed tendril to wipe his brow “I couldn’t let go that everyone _hated me_ , they all _hated me_ but they _loved Asriel!_ They loved the memory of Asriel and they would never accept _me!”_

Frisk didn’t wait for Flowey to finish, they quickly leaped forward to take a stab at the giant flower before them, only for Flowey to sink into the earth and sprout back out against the wall “Just like how I was so used to _control and power!_ The moment I lost that power I felt so _useless_ and _confused!”_

 

“Why do you insist on talking?!” Frisk snapped in response, their motions had suddenly been less fluent and almost struggled. Frisk took a misstep and almost lost their footing after another leap forward to slice at the base of Flowey’s stem. Flowey dodged rather easily from the attack, and Frisk was left stumbling into the wall and leaning against it for support. Flowey shook his head with a huff “I felt so… _abused_ and hurt by Chara that I could never forgive them—I thought after all of this, I would never forgive Chara for what they had done to me but—but it wasn’t _me!”_ As if Flowey had just realized this, his angered expression almost seemed relieved at his own words as he gazed at Frisk, who remained leaned and facing the wall “Everything Chara had done, they had done it to Asriel…”

Frisk finally returned the look, their eyes flaring red as Flowey finished “And you’re _not_ Chara. You’re Frisk… and when you were getting ready to go I remember getting so upset that I couldn’t tell the difference but—the difference was _kindness_ — Frisk, you’re your _own person_ just as much as I am _mine.”_

 

Frisk was silent, almost brooding as they stared at Flowey. You couldn’t tell whether their eyes were full of anger, or full of hurt. Maybe Frisk was actually starting to connect the dots? Maybe Frisk was realizing their mistakes? Frisk continued leaning against the wall, huffing like they had exerted themselves to their own limits. Even Flowey noted this, and though another small vine sprouted beside Frisk’s feet, it wasn’t in any way as an attempt to constrict or coil around the human. Flowey lifted the vine to almost carefully, and kind of awkwardly, pat at Frisk’s head “Frisk…”

 

Frisk snapped from the touch, their eyes growing wide as they instinctively grabbed for the vine “ **DON’T TOUCH ME!!** ” They shouted just as they used their knife to cut the vine. The vine had been chopped right from the base in the earth, causing Flowey to shriek and you to immediately scream. The tears rolled like lava down your skin “ **FRISK!!** ”

 

You had enough, if Sans wasn’t going to do something then you would have to. Holding in your breath, you darted forward and made certain to stand your ground right in between Flowey and Frisk—who was already preparing another swing of their weapon “ **FRISK, STOP!!** ”

 

Frisk’s motion had ceased instantly, just in time too from how close the tip of the green-stained knife had been from your cheek. They pulled their arm back and glared at you, but before they could say anything you held your hands out towards them as if prepared to shove them back “Frisk, stop! Please!” The tears blurred your vision, but thankfully you were close enough to Frisk to be able to see their features “Just—just please _don’t do this_ …! Why? Why does someone have to die—“

Frisk turned their blade away from you, but only so that they could roughly grasp your shoulders and practically shove you out the way. You were tossed off to the side, fumbling a bit before falling over into the dirt. Almost immediately, Flowey’s vines and stem had thick and sharp thorns break out of their skin, and he breathed out sinisterly _“Touch them again. I dare you.”_

 

You gave in. There was nothing you could do. You didn’t even bother standing yourself up as you looked back towards Frisk and Flowey who were, once again, facing each other; ready for another round. And this time, it looked like Flowey was more than ready to start truly fighting back. You were completely—

 

“ **YOU DO** ** _NOT_** **KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT!!** ” Frisk had suddenly screamed, causing Flowey’s actions to falter and you to be taken aback from the yell. Glancing quickly towards Sans for some sort of hint as to what Frisk was talking about, it didn’t do much since even Sans seemed baffled by what had just happened. Frisk was suddenly breathing heavily, holding the knife with both their hands as if it had somehow become too heavy to be a mere one-handed weapon. They were slightly hunched, as if completely worn out from the battle they had started, and one of their eyes had closed like they were holding something back. “You… You do not know what it is like… to be given a second chance… but having to leave someone else behind!” Frisk spoke with a heavy breath, like they couldn’t gather enough air in their lungs for what they were about to admit “ _Everything_ I did was to set them free! **_EVERYTHING!_** And for what—Asriel _gave up on me—_ he **_GAVE UP ON US!_** _”_

 

For some reason, the words didn’t sound as if they were coming from Frisk. It was the same feeling you felt when Frisk’s voice had shifted to a different tone and octave… as if Frisk had been completely taken over by someone else entirely. The words Frisk shouted out sounded like they came from someone who had been betrayed by Asriel—but at the same time, it couldn’t of been Frisk, since Frisk had met Asriel for a short period of time before having to leave and guide everyone to safety. So… who could be talking?

The anger that Frisk expressed had turned into rage, their face was as red as their eyes, but even then they weren’t thrashing out or trying to lunge for Flowey again. Instead, Frisk’s eyes were filling with tears of their own as they sniffled and breathed out “I hated my life! I hated everything about humanity and… and at the time my only wish was to get rid of them! Get rid of **ALL OF THEM** for **EVERYTHING** that they have **EVER DONE TO ME!!** ” They were practically choking on their own words, coughing as they sobbed out “ **I HATED EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM AND EVERYTHING ABOUT MYSELF!!** But I cannot just take on the world! I cannot fight the world alone! So—so I gave up!”

 

Frisk chuckled, the chuckle was obviously just a way to ease their own pain as they admitted “ _I climbed the mountain to end my life._ ”

 

“Frisk…” You started, only to receive an intense stare from them as they turned their head in your direction and glared “I am **NOT FRISK** , you complete and utter **IDIOT!!** ” Frisk breathed out heavily, using their sleeve to wipe at their face and try to clean off their snot and tears “ _I… am Chara…_ ”

 

You cleared your throat, giving a faint nod in understanding. You weren’t sure how Chara, the sibling of Asriel, came to share a body and mind with Frisk… but it didn’t seem like now was the right time to ask about something like that either. You simply lowered your head as they managed to start up again “And I know I was always the asshole. I knew more than I played—“ Frisk continued. You made certain to keep your mouth shut, nervously crawling yourself back some to give Flowey and Frisk space as you made your way towards the opposite wall of the cavern. You leaned your back against the leafy wall, feeling sore and tired even though you weren’t the one who had been involved in the fight. But the overwhelming emotions in such a small space were laying heavy on your body.

Frisk, or perhaps Chara, had calmed their stance down after their confession, reiterating “I feigned innocent when I was everything but. In the beginning… my sole intent was to exact revenge upon the humanity that shunned me away.”

Flowey’s thorns had retracted quickly suddenly, he was also absorbed in the story that Chara was now pouring out. The story of Chara, from their own perspective. Flowey could only have known from Asriel’s side of the spectrum, and neither of you could have expected this sudden turn of events. You remembered how angry Frisk had gotten when you demanded permission to tread in the Underground. Frisk’s eyes had flashed the same fiery red as they had now. You connected the dots quickly then, realizing that all this time… it had been Chara trying to keep you away from the Underground—because Frisk and Chara knew that Flowey was still there.

“I used them.” Chara’s red eyes lowered almost in shame, they stared down at the knife they wielded in their hands. Though the blade was pointed downward, it was still held in a way that could easily turn it back into a weapon “I used the Dreemurr’s for myself… for my own selfish purpose because I could not let go of what humanity had done. I wanted to die, but I was given a new life. The monster’s showed me that they were nothing like what the stories foretold in books and research. The true monsters were the _humans_ . And I felt that… my gift to monsterkind, my gift to the Dreemurrs… would be to set them free and to _kill everything on the surface._ ”

 

Admitting this apparently caused Chara to giggle, as if it were a funny thought. The giggle was light but creepy, and you cringed from how humourous they found death to be. To kill off the whole human race? That wasn’t a way to bring peace. But Chara knew fairly well, because they continued “The more I would comment on how much I hated humans… or how much humanity deserved to perish, the more mom and dad would scold me. ‘Never wish death upon even the _worst_ of people,’ as they would say. But I would continue, I would continue to fuel my hatred behind closed doors and with my best friend—Asriel.”

Flowey suddenly cringed as well, his vines were sinking into the earth as he was beginning to let his guard down. Chara wiped at their eyes again “My thoughts would never change. Humans deserved no mercy— and as my offering of gratitude towards monsters, I decided to give my life to Asriel in hopes of him breaking the barrier and setting monsterkind free.” As if the thought were relieving and comforting, Chara had given a light smile at their words as their red eyes lifted from their knife to Flowey’s face.

 

Flowey’s own eyes widened, and he quickly looked away towards you. You weren’t sure what to say or do, but if anything… you shook your head lightly at him. As if assuming he was figuring out a way to run, you decided that it would be best to stand your ground, and he would be a lot safer the less he moved. The last thing you wanted was to get Chara angry again and fighting. Chara was talking things over, calming themselves down… this was actually a good thing, you realized. The more Chara talked it all over and sorted themselves out, maybe everything would turn to your favor.

 

“But Asriel did not want me to die…” Chara said gently “It was expected. Once you grow close to someone… you have a hard time letting them go.” The smile on their face had died down somewhat from saying this, and they sighed “I pushed Asriel into doing things that he was uncomfortable with. In the end he died in vain, both of us died for nothing. And when I woke up again… I thought that this was punishment. To live in a world without Asriel, to be given a second chance even though Asriel was not—to lay witness to, yet again, a human falling down and I expected to watch them slaughter all of the monsters of the Underground but… it did not happen. In the end, Asriel’s faith in humankind was genuine. Frisk… Frisk proved that not all humans are horrid. And Frisk proved that I was in the wrong… and I was the bully. The horrible sibling who picked on Asriel for crying, or for not wanting to follow through plans… I hurt Asriel, I hurt everyone I cared about… and I ruined everything.”

 

A stray tear fell down their face, and they breathed out shakily “Do you not see now why I must do this?”

 

Slowly they retook their stance; the posture of a fighter as Chara slowly lifted their blade back up with one hand and aimed it towards Flowey, who had long since shrunken down to his normal size “This is my last chance to make things right… Asriel’s last wish was to leave him be, to let everyone be happy… and to keep him underground because he did not know what he was capable of. This is all I have left of Asriel… this _promise_ … and if I lose that—“ Chara smiled “I lose Asriel forever. This is my way of apologizing to him for everything I have ever done… everything I did not do, everything I wish I could…”

Flowey didn’t regrow, he didn’t do anything to show that he would rejoin in on the fight. As you slowly began to stand to your feet, all Flowey seemed to try and do was sprout a vine like he had done before, reattempting to comfort the human. Chara once more tensed, but thankfully this time they used their hand to swat away at the vine rather than their knife “Do _not_ touch me…!”

 

“You don’t think Flowey’s loved and lost?” You ask then, slowly making your way back towards the two of them and once again stepping between them both. You stood before Frisk and Chara, with your back turned to Flowey as you focused on your friend “He shared the same emotions and connections as Asriel once, he knows _all_ of what had happened and he knows _exactly_ why he’s locked underground and why you’ve wanted to keep him here. It wasn’t just for the safety of humans and monsters, it was for the sake of keeping a promise to someone he _knows_ everyone loves and misses. Frisk—“ You paused “And uh… Chara—“ You cleared your throat and continued “He’s hurting as much as you, because people won’t let the past go and they keep holding on. Flowey’s dealt with it all and throughout this whole journey that we made together just to get here… he’s shown me everything.” You swallowed back your fear, the fear you had of Frisk… now realizing who they really were and understanding where their rage and heartache came from. You called them by name “Chara—I know that you love Asriel dearly, and he loves you too—“

“Liar!” Chara glared, huffing under their breath as they sliced at the air before them. You quickly pulled yourself back a bit just in case they swiped too close to you, but they still glared at you from the accusation “I know he does not feel the same way—his last words about me were that I was a bad person and—he wished Frisk was his best friend and not me!” They took in a deep breath to calm themselves down, and they finished quickly “This is how I will make up for it! This is how I will prove how sorry I am for having been such a—“

“You have to let people rest, Chara.” You persisted further, shaking your own head at their tunnel vision. They were dead set on making amends to someone that was long gone. As sad as it was, not everyone got a chance to sort out differences before ones passing. Not everyone was as lucky as you. But as tough as life had always been for each and every person in existence, sometimes nothing was fair. But what was fair in the now… was that Flowey deserved his freedom as much as Asriel “Do you think Asriel would want you to be torn up like this? Chara, look what you’ve been doing you—you’re hurting me and Flowey, you’re making Frisk hurt the people that they care about…”

You at least hoped your words rang true. You truly hoped that Frisk cared about you both, and that it was Chara who started the battle and not Frisk. Either way, Chara’s face expressed a melancholic look that implied some of the words you had said were correct. Whichever words they were, they wouldn’t say, but you still stood strong “When you both reached the surface, knowing fully well the humans would try to hurt him… he _still_ wouldn’t fight back. Do you think Asriel would want to hurt anyone? Would he want _anybody_ to die?”

 

Chara’s red eyes flickered, the knife suddenly dropping to the ground with a weak clank as they held their stomach like they were sick. There was a weak yet heavy heaving escaping from them, you were expecting them to begin vomiting from what you remembered of your own sick escapades down below. They lowered their head and hunched forward, continuing their actions for a short time and swallowing back whatever it was that they were about to push forward—but then soon enough they stopped their breathing. They calmed, and they gave a weak nod, their brown hair shaking with them “You’re right…” They said meekly “I know you’re right… ah…”

 

They slowly straightened themselves up, their arms at their side as they let their eyes lift to gaze over at you. Their eyes were brown; it was Frisk again “I’m so sorry… for all of this. I… really, I am…”

 

“It’s… it’s okay…” You wanted to run forward and hug them, but knowing now that apparently Frisk, and Chara, were against being touched during times of anger and stress made you keep your distance for a while. Frisk apparently didn’t believe your words, because they were quick to say again “I-I’m really _really_ sorry… I just… I was so overwhelmed…”

 

You gave them a warm smile, though now that Frisk had calmed down somewhat, your focus went to Flowey. Turning around quickly, you took a few steps closer to Flowey before kneeling down to his level and asking gently “Are you alright?”

Flowey blinked at you, his face was mournful just like Frisk’s. Brooding, he didn’t seem to realize why you were even interested in asking _him_ if he was alright considering the whole fight had put an emotional strain on Frisk more so than the flower. But when you commented lightly “Your vines…” He realized why you had asked, and he slowly lowered his head to grow a tendril out of the dirt “I can regenerate vines just fine, I’ll be okay.”

Flowey was silent as he looked down and inspected his vine, and Frisk was somewhat sniffling to themselves. The silence in the cavern was thick, and even Sans stood almost like a statue by the entrance. His hands remained in his hoodie pockets, the lights in his eyes still flickered out. Knowing that Frisk and Sans were rather close, you suspected he knew plenty about everything that had just been said and done. Maybe even _more_ than what you had witnessed, but in the end, you didn’t exactly care. This was about Frisk and Flowey, not Sans.

You gently brushed your hand over the back of Flowey’s head, smiling at him as he finally looked up to return the gaze. You sighed tiredly, not knowing what to say. A part of you suspected that, even after everything that had happened, Frisk may not give in. Your first instinct was exactly as you spoke out “It’ll be difficult, but… we can figure out a way to get me back to the Ruins, right?”

 

Flowey blinked, and though for a split second you could see his face showing shock and anguish at the realization of you not being welcome to the surface—at the same time he also seemed to brighten at the thought. Maybe it was just the thought of getting to be with you? You liked to think so… it did, after all, bring a small smile to his face. He let his vine coil between your fingers, letting out a weak laugh as he nodded and held your hand carefully “It’ll take a bit of construction… but we can do it.”

 

“We’ll have to figure out how to get TV and internet at your place.” You rolled your eyes jokingly “I think I’ll die if I don’t get internet.”

 

The light hearted talking helped ease the tension between you two. Flowey was smiling and so were you, and it felt rather relieving. In fact, you were starting to think that maybe… this whole ordeal wouldn’t be a bad ending after all. Actually, perhaps this was the happy ending you had been searching for?

 

The sound of steps through the dirt distracted you and Flowey from each other, and you both turned your head to watch Frisk slowly make their way over towards Sans. The two of them mumbled something or another to each other, low enough for neither of you to be able to hear, but it was enough for you to get the hint. They were both probably talking about resealing the hole. It didn’t matter what you and Frisk, and Chara, had discussed and been through… a promise was still a promise, and that’s all that mattered.

But you were okay with it. You simply smiled at them even as they both finally stopped their chatter and glanced your way with neutral and dead pan expressions. Sans let the rib cage slink back into the ground, unblocking the exit and allowing Frisk to be the first to climb through the hole to leave. You only needed to blink once for Sans to vanish after Frisk, and that was the end of that.

 

But you were okay with it.

 

“You’ll teach me how to cook too, right?” You asked then, stretching out your arm for Flowey to slowly unearth himself and wrap around you. Flowey gave you a warm smile “Yeah, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Thank you for reading PLAYGROUND! HOPE YOU ENJOYED! :D
> 
>  
> 
> >jk its not over yet.


	34. And With Our Souls Now Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You chuckled “Ready for a new playground?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > I don't have much to say honestly ;; *sniffles*  
> > EDIT:: Tags updated! Not much added, but just a few!

###  **Chapter Thirty-Four:** ** _And With Our Souls Now Bound_**

It only took a few seconds before realizing that when Sans and Frisk had left, you never exactly got a chance to tell Frisk goodbye.

 

You didn’t get to say your farewells to the others, you didn’t get to say  _ ‘I wish we got to hang out more’  _ to anyone. Frisk and Sans simply gave you a look before crawling back from whence they came, and leaving you and Flowey to mull over your decision.

 

But you couldn’t turn your back on Flowey. Not anymore.

 

“What do you want to do now?” Flowey had asked you to snap you out of your trance-like state. You had stared at Flowey without actually thinking, your mind was elsewhere from the reality of the situation. All the things you had learned on this journey would go to waste because Frisk had left just like that. The spiders that were counting on you and your promise to set them free, the amalgamate that was still lifeless ash in your bag hoping to be reformed… you would have to face everyone’s wrath and you had no one to blame but yourself. Flowey had lightly pressed the tip of his vine to your nose to snap you out of it once more, before you finally responded after what probably had been a minute or two “Well, I guess the first thing on our list is to build that bridge. We may have to camp out for a day or two while figuring that out, if anything we could make temporary bridges strong enough to get me across them.”

“If I bundle up enough vines they might be able to do just that.” Flowey said solemnly, realizing why you were suddenly in deep thought and distracted. It was probably stuck on your face how, as ready as you were to be with Flowey, you still had so many unfinished things on the surface. Days ago you had things for the next day planned out… and now, today, you had to plot out your entire future in the Underground. Things would never be the same, and as much as you joked around… you knew you would need time to get accustomed to a new way of living.

 

But now, you had all the time in the world.

 

Realizing this, Flowey had let his lips lightly kiss your cheek “Having second thoughts?” He dared to ask.

 

You immediately shook your head, replying simply “I knew what I was doing… the only difference is, it feels rather sudden. I guess I just wished I had time to prepare myself for what was bound to happen.”

The two of you once more returned to silence, though that smile crept on your face again. You knew things would be alright from here on out. As much as it hurt to leave things behind, the important thing out of all this that had happened to you was learning to let things come and go. Fight when you can and if you must, but when push comes to shove you had to move forward. And you fought like hell for this, you fought to save Flowey’s life. This was the end result; the golden flower was alive and well, happy as can be with you by his side, and eager to begin something amazing with you.

 

“I love you.” Flowey said simply.

You snorted, nervously scratching your cheek with a single finger “I love you too, but… you know what they say? If you say it too much and too often it starts to lose its meaning.”

The plant rolled his eyes along with his head at this, his calm demeanor never changing as he commented “Whatever, that’s a load of crap I’m sure. Words don’t change just because you use them often.” He looked to you with almost brightly lit eyes “To me, they’ll always mean everything.”

 

“You’ve gotten so corny now.” You snorted once again and covered your mouth to laugh a bit. Little did you realize you were also trying to hide your blush “You’ve come a long way since when we first met.”

“And so have you.” Flowey winked.

 

Your conversation was suddenly interrupted when someone’s voice had shouted out “ **ON MY MARK!!”**

 

The two of you whipped your heads so fast that you could’ve suffered from whiplash. You stared at the wall where the hole hadn’t even been sealed off yet because that’s where the sudden shout had come from, the other side where apparently—a surprise to you—the group of people that came to Mount Ebott with Frisk were still gathered around. There was blurred motions and movement outside of the hole, before it had all stopped for a short period of time. You and Flowey gave each other a simple look of confusion, before looking back curiously out the hole in hopes of spotting something else.

The confusion remained, but only for a split second as the light of the outside world seemed to grow brighter… and brighter… and  _ brighter? _

 

“ **GIVE IT ALL THAT YOU’VE GOT!!** ” You now recognized the voice to be coming from Frisk, who was apparently instructing them all to now—“ **BLOW IT UP, GUYS!!** ”

 

“More like  _ blow it down _ _!_ ”

“ **SANS!** ** _PLEASE!_** ”

                                                            “ **FINALLY, SOME ACTION!!** ”

 

Knowing fully well what was bound to happen, but at the same time in utter disbelief, you felt totally petrified in your seated position as a bright mixture of vibrant colors seemed to pour through the open hole of the wall to blind you. It was like a flashlight directed straight at your face, you weren’t sure what to do or say and were rather shocked from the sudden action. Too shocked, in fact, to do anything about it. It had been Flowey who suddenly yelped out at the realization of what was about to occur “Hit the deck!”

Pure instinct drove the golden flower to wrap multiple vines around you, cocooning you protectively in a bundle of rough tendrils as he surfed the earth and forced you wobbling after him and down the hall of the cave—opposite of where the wall was located.

Just as Frisk’s words had warned, Flowey and you didn’t make it out the doorway in time before the wall had literally blown up. The brick and stone that had once built it so securely suddenly went flying, and the explosion in itself hit your back and Flowey’s tendrils. You two had shouted from the burst of pressure that sent you both tumbling down with plenty of other debris to roll with you. Flowey had planted himself in the earth to move faster, but it had all been for naught as he was forced out of the dirt and tossed like a tumbleweed in the desert. His vines had only tightened around you before loosening and sending you toppling over as well.

Your main fear in the heat of the moment had been any rocks or barrier shards being flown in either of your direction, but apparently Flowey had recovered just in time to quickly build up a wall of his own out of thousands of tiny vines to protect you both from anything that might’ve been tossed with the explosion. A thick cloud of dust fogged up the small cave, filling your lungs and nostrils and causing you to cough up a storm—it took all of your willpower to not start a sneezing fit.

When he felt it was safe enough, Flowey lowered his wall of vines and began rushing to clean you up. His need to keep things spotless and tidy was at it again even during a time like this. He let his vines brush over you to toss away any spare dirt or debris that might’ve been on your shoulders or in your hair. Your appearance at this point didn’t matter all too much to you though. You found a rare few blessings in the underground with working showers and running baths, so being a bit dirty didn’t matter to you.

 

It took some time for the fog of the destruction to clear up, but once the smoke was out of your eyes after a bit of fanning it away, you saw four silhouettes where the wall should have been.

 

_ The wall… _ the wall was no longer there.

 

All that remained was a large pile of crumbled blocks that had once been the main obstacle of your demise—and Flowey’s. It had been completely shattered, and all that you could see now were four different persons with different heights. One stood with what appeared to be a sledgehammer, which they leaned against in what you could only imagine(since their faces were still dark) to be a rather smug stance. Though they weren’t nearly as tall as the two other silhouettes that stood on either side of the hammer-wielding character,  the two tallest figures had both made their own magical weapons disappear just as the shortest of them, obviously and mostly likely Sans, had let his own bones disappear.

 

And in the end as the air cleared way, you saw Frisk, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne all standing side by side looking mighty proud of the work they had done.

 

It wasn’t until you coughed hoarsely that Frisk had snapped out of their smug stance and their face expressed sheer panic. They struggled over the destroyed wall to make it to you “Oh crap, are you alright?! I was—we weren’t expecting you guys to still be here!”

“What’s going on?” You demanded rather quickly, waving your hand dismissively at Frisk even as they helped you to your feet. Flowey wasn’t ready to leave your side, and it only made sense that he wouldn’t want to after what Frisk had done, so he was quick to wrap himself around your arm and cling to your shoulder even as Frisk supported you and brought you closer towards the destroyed wall.

“We didn’t want you guys in the blast radius but, I guess you two stuck around, huh?” Frisk practically ignored your question as they gave a nervous laugh, letting you go only once they were certain you were fine on your feet. The other three remained by the entryway they had made, talking to each other like it was no big deal, as if they hadn’t just blown down a giant ass  _ wall. _

“ _ Frisk…! _ ” You were about to repeat, but this time Frisk quickly grabbed your free shoulder and squeezed with a wide grin “Listen to me for a sec! Please—I’ll explain everything, I promise.”

You nodded, calming down as you looked to Flowey to make sure he was alright as well. Flowey was peeking around Frisk and mostly giving the other three suspicious looks rather than questioning Frisk’s purpose.

 

You, Flowey, and Frisk( _ especially _ Frisk) had fought over this wall keeping Flowey away from freedom… Frisk fought to keep it up and you fought to tear it down—all for it to now be demolished without warning? You needed an answer, even if Flowey apparently didn’t seem at all interested in it anymore.

 

“I thought about what you had said.” Frisk started. The air was still rather clouded from the demolition, the light of the outside had been blocked off so that there was nothing in the mist of dust and dirt but a few people standing around in rubble. It was probably a bad idea for you all to be sitting around in said dust, but Frisk didn’t seem to be budging as they continued “I thought about everything and… it all came down to one thing. Flowey’s determination.”

“My  _ what? _ ” Flowey now refocused on Frisk, who gave the golden flower a small smile and responded “Flowey, there was no  _ magic  _ keeping you down here. There was no barrier or anything… there was nothing keeping you from digging under the wall and reaching the surface on your own. All these years… no one was holding you back but yourself… it shows that you have something now that, back then, I was worried you had lost.” The ambassador tilted their head lightly “Self-control.”

You looked to Flowey, suddenly you couldn’t help but give him a warm smile. Flowey looked to you almost nervously, probably realizing that as much as he wanted to believe he had self-control like Frisk was gloating about, he had come a long way to get there. You were rather proud of his transformation, and as much as you recalled the times he had hurt you to try and get his way, you also knew that he was better than that now. You forgave him for his wrong doings and now he could move on from them with pride knowing he had done nothing but his best.

As if knowing fully well what look you two were sharing, Frisk interrupted “At least, he’s tried as much as he possibly could. Obviously he still has work to take care of but… for now, it’s enough for me.”

Frisk let go of your shoulder then, helping you refocus on them. They gave a small pout of their lip, whether it was in a teasing manner or a serious one you couldn’t tell—at least, you couldn’t tell until they finally spoke up once again “Listen, I’m sorry for everything I put you through. You’re right, friends shouldn’t act like this towards each other.”

 

Friends?

 

Your heart skipped a beat at this. Frisk acknowledging you as a friend made you rather happy. Their own smile widened at seeing yours light up, obviously the excitement of what was being granted was becoming contagious “I don’t know if you could ever forgive me, for threatening you but… if anything I’ll give you exactly what you had wanted… but, obviously rules still need to be set.”

You were a bit confused at this, but you simply shook your head “Of course I forgive you, Frisk. You forgave me for wandering down here even after you told me not to… we can just say we’re even.”

Frisk snorted “Right, an eye for an eye.” They then glanced towards Flowey “You’re in charge of him. Obviously… the two of you got  _ something  _ going on, so I trust you to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“ _ Seriously? _ ” Flowey sighed heavily, taking offense to the accusation. It was real however, because Frisk’s smile weakened as they looked to Flowey “Flowey you might’ve come a long way, but you still have a long way to go. They’re going to have to be around you twenty-four seven, you’re not going to even be allowed to be on your own for more than a minute.” Frisk returned to smiling a bit more again “You know, for bathroom time.”

“Are you fucking kidding me.” Flowey sighed heavily again, his cheeks flushing. You couldn’t help but laugh at this, though the mood had suddenly turned rather serious as Frisk’s smile disappeared. Their stare remained on Flowey, whose own embarrassment and annoyance subsided when Frisk spoke once more “Flowey… the last thing I wanted was to ditch you or make you feel abandoned and alone… I made a promise to Asriel and I was really focused on fulfilling it. Even now, it hurts me bringing you out of the Underground.”

 

The reminder of the reason the three of you fought had made the environment heavy once again. Even with the dust slowly clearing up, you could feel a pressure in your lungs keeping you from saying much. This was between Frisk and Flowey, even if the flower was squeezing your shoulder defensively.

 

“But I know…” Frisk finished “Deep down, Asriel would have wanted this. At the time, he was so scared of you, Flowey. He was scared of what he was capable of… he was scared because, like you, for a short period of time he thought you two were one in the same. Asriel’s one goal had always been to help everyone get free, and in a sense… his other dream was to get everyone to the surface; including you.” Frisk lifted a hand, carefully digging out their pendant from around their neck to reveal the familiar charm that you had known Frisk to have been wearing since they were little. Seeing this though caused Flowey to jump in surprised, he didn’t hesitate to stretch out a small vine to let it grace the necklace delicately. This action apparently caused some emotions to overwhelm Frisk, as they took in a shaky breath and blinked their hazel eyes down at the golden flower “Flowey… with you leaving, Asriel’s promise and dying wish will be fulfilled. And you reminded me that everyone deserves mercy.”

Flowey pulled his tendril away from the pendant, looking to you thoughtfully as if hoping for an answer. There wasn’t anything you could give though, this was something he and Frisk had to figure out on their own.

 

Realizing you wouldn’t budge, Flowey furrowed his invisible brows and looked away from you. Frisk used their hand to now wipe at their eyes “Flowey, I’m sorry for projecting Asriel onto you. It’ll take me time to get used to all of this, and I know it’ll take time for you too but… forgive me please for all that I had done and… what I was trying to do…” Frisk’s words rang hoarse at the end, as they whispered like their throat grew sore. Their eyes showed pain as they mumbled “Forgive me for… trying to kill you.”

 

“I only reminded you of mercy because it was something  _ you  _ taught  _ me _ .” Flowey was quick to respond, glancing away from them and giving the ambassador a chance to wipe at their eyes and face. Flowey had spoken up so quick that it almost startled Frisk, but it was as if Flowey knew what he was going to say the moment Frisk gave them a chance “Frisk… I’m here because you showed me mercy and let me live when I deserved nothing but death. I deserved to die after everything I had done to you and everyone else—but you spared me and told me that even the worst of people don’t deserve to die.” Flowey smiled gently “Even the worst of people deserve a second chance. And sure you’re not the  _ worst _ of people, but you of all people deserve another chance and… tch.” He sighed lightly “Of course I forgive you, idiot.”

“ _ Oh my god _ .” Frisk broke down into tiny laughs, though the tears rolled over their face as they struggled to wipe their eyes “Oh my god that’s so nostalgic hearing you say that—“

Flowey snickered “Hearing what?”

 

Frisk sniffled and blinked away the tears, though they still let out a weak laugh “Calling me an idiot.” After they used their sleeve to fully give their whole face a wipe down, they took in a deep breath and sighed it out slowly. They weren’t perfect, nobody was honestly, but Frisk did their best. It was the best someone of their age could do after having been given a job since they were a little kid. Frisk’s face was still red and irritated from the overwhelming emotions, but at the same time they were no longer covered in tears and looked a bit more composed “But thank you, Flowey… thank you so much…”

“Thank you, Frisk.” Flowey snickered, stretching out loose roots to wrap around the young adult. Even though you were technically involved, you did your best to learn your head away as Flowey and Frisk hugged it out and embraced. It was, honestly, rather awkward not being apart of the hug even though Flowey was attached to your shoulder, but you also tried your best to play it as cool as you could. The hug even lasted a bit longer than you expected, making your lean elsewhere even more awkward and personally embarrassing for you. You didn’t know what to say, you didn’t want to kill the mood or interrupt their reunion/bonding, but at the same time you were literally being a  _ third wheel and god dammit guys can you two hurry the hell up— _

“Don’t humans need to breathe?!” That familiar high pitched voice rolled in as you were stuck peeking over Frisk’s shoulder. 

 

You watched as the tallest figure of the trio from outside came in through the dust and clouds, revealing himself before the three of you. Papyrus still wore his uniform costume as he had worn since when you first met him so many years ago, but he still looked pretty chipper in it. The tall lanky skeleton grinned as he looked down to the three of you, just as  _ thankfully  _ Frisk and Flowey let go of each other “There is so much DIRT in here! Do you three not want to step outside?”

Papyrus looked to Flowey then, who stared up at the skeleton almost in awe. Papyrus’ wide and happy smile had calmed at the sight of the golden flower “Flowey…! It has been so long! I sent you letters every day!” And as if suddenly questioning whether Flowey  _ did  _ receive them or not, he asked quickly after “Have you been getting them? And the spices and cookbooks and recipes?! I HAVE SENT SO MUCH—“

Flowey laughed lightly “Yeah, I’ve gotten everything from you… at least for the most part.” Flowey used a small vine to rub at the back of his petalled head “Thanks for those. I’ve learned a lot about cooking over the years because of you.” He snorted a bit then “Though,  _ some _ of those  _ crates _ you would drop down didn’t make the fall, which maybe it’s time you learned about gravity and force and how that shit works—“

 

You roughly poked Flowey, and he winced “Hey!”

 

Like Frisk, Papyrus quickly rushed over to the three of you, but only so that he could give Flowey a hug. He curled downward to your height just to hug Flowey.  _ Just Flowey. _ Once again you were in an awkward position of no one hugging you but everyone wanting to reconnect with the flower. You didn’t blame them of course, but you still felt embarrassed having to stand as stiff as possible for Flowey’s reunions.

Thankfully this one didn’t last long, because Flowey had let go and even muttered for Papyrus to let go, and Papyrus was probably way too tall to be hunched over for so long. Papyrus returned to sounding excited though “I sent those letters to you because you’re still my best flower friend! I didn’t want you to think you were abandoned, let alone by me!” Papyrus frowned lightly “If I could have found you back then, I would have brought you with us… but I didn’t know where you ran off to, and everyone was in such a rush to get out. But I would never abandon you on purpose… you know that, don’t you?”

“Of course~” Flowey scoffed, waving his leaves dismissively. Papyrus obviously had no idea what had happened after Asriel had destroyed the barrier. He didn’t know that Flowey turned into Asriel and then ran off to make a promise with Frisk. Papyrus didn’t know a lot about Flowey’s true origins, or probably how everyone even managed to get out. For all the monsters knew, it had been Frisk who freed everyone; not Asriel. But in the end, maybe that was for the best.

Flowey sighed “Papyrus you’re a good guy, I would never think negatively of you!” However he cut his own words short and quickly asked “But are you still a pushover? I mean, you were always tossed around like—“

 

You roughly flicked Flowey’s petal and he yelped “Ow!  _ What?!” _

 

“And I guess if my bro’s a fan of somebody, I gotta join in on the bandwagon.”

 

Now Sans was stepping over the fallen rubble to make his way in, stopping beside Papyrus to give his taller brother a wide grin of pride. Papyrus was rather happy about this, but you were moreso happy that Sans wasn’t going to try and hug Flowey. You had a feeling that even if he did, Flowey wouldn’t allow it anyway.

Eventually Undyne, who chose to  _ not  _ join everyone inside of the cave, shouted out as well “And any friend of Paps’ a friend of mine! Frisk’s been guiding us for YEARS, I sure as hell trust them over anybody!”

“So if Flowey’s good to go…” Sans started, looking to Frisk then. Frisk grinned back and finished with a peace sign “…then Flowey’s good to  _ gone! _ ”

It must’ve been some sort of inside joke between the two, because they were the only two who laughed at this. You gave a nervous chuckle to try and pretend you understood, but it didn’t make sense to you. With that, everyone sighed lightly. Sans and Papyrus were the first to turn back around and head out towards the clearing, all the while the taller brother was babbling and rambling on about how excited he was to show Flowey about the town. Frisk gestured with their arm for you both to join them before making their way out as well.

 

You quietly followed along, directly behind Frisk as they lead the way through the dust towards the large exit out of the cavern. Before you forgot, you quickly blurted out “Hey—the spiders! And the amalgamate!”

 

“Amalgamate?” Apparently Undyne overheard you, and she didn’t hesitate to enter inside of the renewed entry way with the sudden interest. You were confused about why she of all people would be interested in what you had to say on that subject, but then she clarified with a simple toothy grin “My girlfriend works with amalgamates, she used to do a lot of fancy research back underground. Ya got something ya wanna say?”

“Ah…” Undyne’s interference had kept you from following Frisk fully out of the Underground. You and Flowey were taken aback by Undyne’s quick slide in front of you. Undyne had always been rather dominant and aggressive when it came to most things she was passionate about, and one of those things included a person—her scientist girlfriend. In the moment you had no idea what she meant by ‘ _ my girlfriend’.  _ But once her interception rang clear you managed to put two and two together. Obviously she was referring to Alphys, the two had been dating for as long as you could remember.

You swallowed down the nervous lump in your throat as you looked at her, Undyne had seemed a lot more muscular than when you had last seen her—but maybe that was because it had been a long while. Her stare was intense, her brows furrowed as if she were pissed off at you for even mentioning the word, and yet a wide toothy(and sharp!) grin was across her lips. You swallowed once again, and this time, so did Flowey “Uh, we met an amalgamate dog in Alphys’ old lab while down here.” You slowly, and carefully, removed your backpack to open it up and pull out the wrapped up ashes of the pup. You held them out to Undyne, who also took great care in taking them from you “Here. They were light sensitive, so when I left the lab… they kind of turned into this ash. They were so sad from being left behind, I couldn’t leave them. Do you think Alphys would be able to do something with this?”

“Alphy can do anything.” Undyne’s facial expression relaxed as she looked the small package of ash over. As if your story about the dog had touched her in some way, her menacing demeanor seemed to falter slightly. But even so, as much as you liked to think over how scary and fierce she appeared to be, there must have been something gentle and sweet about her for her to fall in love with Alphys, and the yellow dino fall in love back. Maybe this was the side of her that she didn’t often show to people—but then again, that could just be you dreaming. Undyne eventually looked back at you from the ash package you had given her, nodding her head lightly “Thanks. I’ll see what she can do and she’ll hit you up.”

“I called Mrs. Muffet so she’ll be on her way to get her other spider pals.” Frisk returned to stand with Undyne, probably after realizing she had cut you off from escaping. Hearing the name though, you blinked in surprise “Mrs.? Did she get married?”

 

“It’s been awhile since she got married.” Frisk chuckled “I’m not surprised you don’t know but, it was a few years back. Her husband was the one who helped her begin franchising her bakeries and shops all over the area.”

“It’s a darn shame he’s sick suddenly.” Sans commented “Lookin’ like Muffet’s ‘bout to be  _ a widow.” _

Frisk quickly turned their head around and called out, even though it was between nervous laughs, they still snapped “Sans, that’s dark! Don’t say that!”

After Sans laughed it off on his own—even with Papyrus scolding him—Frisk gestured for you and Flowey again “Let’s get out of here, alright? The suns already setting, we won’t be back in town until nightfall and we… have to figure out the seating arrangements in my car.”

 

“My car should still be out there.” You suggested as you followed Frisk out “Though I lost my keys so—“

“I can hotwire it.” Flowey commented.

You glared, and Flowey shrugged “What? You learn a lot when you’ve got nothing but books…”

“I think we can just take you guys to town, and then maybe tomorrow we can all figure out how to get your car.” Frisk commented with a nervous chuckle.

 

There was so much debris due to the explosion that had been caused to tear down the wall. Frisk was commenting about how they had gotten Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne to use their magic in order for it to get done faster. However with their combined powers it caused the wall to explode rather than crumble down like they had expected it to. Frisk even admitted that they had a sledge hammer in their car that they were meaning to get rid of, and if it weren’t for them forgetting it constantly, they wouldn’t of been able to help with tearing down the blockade.

“Why do you have a sledge hammer?” You dared to ask Frisk. Frisk only gave you a look, as if you had asked a dumb question… however the look faded as they blinked in confusion “I dunno, actually. It must’ve been so long ago that I can barely remember why I thought I needed one. But lucky me, huh?”

Finally managing to make it over all of the demolished and crumbled brick, the smoke of the destruction faded far behind you and Flowey as you resurfaced. Like Frisk had said, the sun was already setting, so the five of you made your way further out of the cavern to reach the clearing; which was an overlook that displayed a remarkable view.

 

There had been many times where you reached Mount Ebott, but never had you found yourself at the exit where the monsters had first left the Underground. The view was mesmerizing; with the bright orange orb slowly curving its way down into the greenery of trees and wildlife that surrounded your town that was truly not that far off by the looks of it—but you knew fully well it was a bit of a drive just to get to where you were. Not far from where you saw the bustling and ever growing city, there was a large castle-like structure that seemed to tower even over the tallest building of your home town. You didn’t exactly go out much, so though it came as a shock to you and Flowey, Frisk and the others simply smiled as they enjoyed the scenery.

“That’s where I used to live.” Frisk pointed, coincidentally to the castle. You gawked “What? Why?”

“You might not remember it, we were little and we had just met.” Frisk snickered and looked to you with a soft smile “When I first came back to the surface after having been away for so long, that’s when I first moved in with Toriel. But none of the monsters had a place to stay. After the parade we hosted to introduce everyone to the town… while there were some hotels and places willing to open its doors to us, not everyone was so kind.” They looked back towards the castle far beyond “So the rest of us went there. It was Asgore and Toriel’s castle before they had been banished to the Underground. It was a tough commute since the city had the closest schools and what not, but it had to be done until we could figure out living arrangements.” Frisk lifted an arm to gently let it rest against their forehead, probably to shade their eyes from the sun “I’m surprised it’s still standing in decent condition, it must’ve been built really well. But we’ve been thinking about turning it into a museum to store keepsakes and memorabilia from the Underground.”

“That’d be one huge museum.” Sans commented.

Frisk nodded and chuckled “Yeah, but I guess not a lot of people have items or things they want to really give up anytime soon…” They glanced back towards you “But with the Underground opened up… maybe we can make this place a museum instead.”

“Don’t you think the entrance is a little… dangerous?” You commented, your mind wandering back to the hole atop the mountain. Frisk snorted “We’ll figure things out when the time comes. But for now,” They gestured with their arm before turning to head down the trail of the mountain “We gotta get going, it’s easier to drive when there’s light still out.”

Sans and Undyne were the first to follow Frisk down the slim path towards the parking lot, the lot where your car had been sitting for a little bit over a week now. Unless you really wanted Flowey to hotwire it for you, you two would be cramming yourselves somehow in Frisk’s car. But you  _ and  _ Frisk were both against having Flowey do anything that may seem  _ illegal _ , even if it were with permission.

 

Speaking of which, Flowey hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the Underground. When you took notice, you spotted him still staring off into the sunset. He was still entranced by the beautiful pink and orange skies that slipped down the horizon, starting to hide itself in the beautiful plant life and the cities and towns, and the castle that stood as tall and strong as ever. Flowey’s eyes were somewhat glistening, an easy indicator that he was on the verge of tearing up.

 

“You okay?” You asked him, causing him to blink and break out of his trance. He looked to you with a small smile, and you returned it as you began to carefully make your way down the trail with Papyrus in the lead.

“It all feels like a dream still.” Flowey commented lowly. Maybe he didn’t want Papyrus to overhear your conversation with him, but he sounded as if he were telling you a secret “I feel like… any second now I’ll wake up and be back in the Underground.”

You took in a deep breath, the clean air of the outside world filled your lungs for a bit before you sighed out “It’s real, Flowey. It’s too good to be a dream.”

“Then… I couldn’t be better.” Flowey finally responded with a little laugh. From the corner of your eye you saw him lift a vine to wipe at his face, but you tried not to put too much attention to his happy tears. He might’ve been somewhat embarrassed, so all you really felt like you could do was chuckle as you continued your walk with him, finally managing to make it to the parking lot where Undyne and Frisk were mainly at the car looking around the inside to try and figure out how everyone was going to fit.

 

Sans stood off to the side, and Papyrus soon joined him to pat his head. You stood behind the brothers to watch the events unfold, and Flowey fully turned himself towards you, with a vine delicately sliding behind your head. The gesture made you return your attention to him, and he started “I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough for believing in me… and being willing to stay behind just to be with me.”

 

You blushed slightly, but Flowey continued “This whole experience was… crazy, and I never would have expected it from seeing you for the first time. Things could have been so different.”

“But they weren’t.” You said simply “They wound up like this, and this is a happy ending to a great book.”

Flowey snickered, stretching out to bump his nonexistent nose against yours. The light bap from him made you giggle, and you couldn’t help but give him a light smooch. But from the sudden wave of emotion, it helped you remember something.

 

“Oh—Sans, Papyrus.”

 

The two brothers turned around, Sans in an arm lock of Papyrus’ doing as they looked to you in confusion. You approached them with a nervous laugh, just in time for Flowey to let go of your face “I had almost forgotten. There’s someone… I can’t remember their name, but they wanted to see you—I’m sure of it.”

“Who?” Sans glanced to Papyrus, who returned the look. You rubbed the back of your head nervously as you tried to recollect your memories, managing to brush your fingers over Flowey’s vine that still remained in your hair “It’s bad of me to say, but it was a skeleton man… I just assumed when he said… something like  _ ‘I want to see my sons’ _ he might’ve meant you guys?”

 

Papyrus’ expression dulled, and there was a silence as you mulled over your thoughts and the brothers stared at you. Papyrus eventually grimaced “ _ Wow. _ ”

Sans snickered “Jus’ ‘cause we’re skeletons doesn’t mean we’re related to every _dead_ thing you bump into—“

 

“That’s not what I meant!” You whined and stomped your foot, trying to of course look as mature as possible. This only caused Sans to snicker some more and Papyrus to crack a grin. Flowey was silently judging you probably as you finished “I can’t remember their name, but I had an incident earlier today with almost falling into this pit called  _ The Void. _ It was at the Core area in Hotland just before reaching New Home. Someone who was apparently sitting around in there asking for one last talk with their two children.”

After having said this, Papyrus and Sans seemed to give each other another look. You could’ve sworn it was similar to a look that Frisk and Sans had shared earlier, that  _ knowing  _ gaze that they communicated through eye contact. And even though to you it felt like a good long minute of them staring at each other, it must’ve been a mere second or two before they both looked back at you with their normal expressions.

 

“That’s weird.” Sans said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. Papyrus cackled a bit “Human! Why are you babbling on about things like this!? Today is a day of CELEBRATION! You have been gone for so long and Frisk has already planned plenty of festivities for the remainder of the week for the both of you!” Papyrus patted your free shoulder, before lightly patting Flowey’s head “Once the seating arrangements are—arranged… then we will be on our way!”

“A week’s worth of festivities?” You repeated as a question, blinking thoughtfully as you looked over to Frisk. Frisk and Undyne were still busy trying to clean out the vehicle, probably in hopes of making enough room. However by the looks of it, it was safe to assume some people would have to sit on another person’s lap. But still, you couldn’t help but smile that… as morbid as it was to think Frisk’s first intent was to either keep Flowey underground or  _ kill him _ … they had planned a week’s worth of fun things for your safe return.

Obviously you couldn’t vocalize this thought, because if you had, Flowey would have caught on and would probably get pissed. But who wouldn’t? In a sense, it would have also been a celebration of  _ murder _ if things turned out as they almost had.

 

“Okay! We did our best!” Frisk finally announced as Undyne and them turned around to look towards you two and the skelebros “Looks like we can fit one up front and maybe two in the back! But Sans, you’re gonna need to find a lap to sit on.”

 

“I call dibs on Papyrus.” Sans said as he trudged along closer to the car. Papyrus simply groaned at this as he followed, and you sighed as you simply watched Undyne and Frisk flex at one another in a rather goofy manner. Frisk was toned, but not tone enough to beat Undyne’s muscles. Once Papyrus and Sans had climbed themselves into the back of the vehicle, you watched as Frisk got into the driver’s seat and Undyne joined the bone brothers in the back before shutting the door behind herself. It looked like the three had managed to squeeze themselves in just fine. This meant you would be in the passenger’s seat right beside Frisk.

 

Noticing you hesitate, Frisk stuck their arm out of the window and waved you down “Let’s go~!”

 

You couldn’t help but laugh, though before approaching the car, you looked to Flowey. Just like before, Flowey seemed to stare off at the vehicle almost in a state of bewilderment and disbelief. Noticing your gaze, he turned his head to you. You grinned “Hey, how are you feeling now?”

“A little…” Flowey sighed, but he smiled as well “Overwhelmed. But… it’ll take some time to get used to all of this.”

“And we have plenty of time.” You commented, lowering your head to gently butt against his “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Flowey breathed out, suddenly becoming just as misty-eyed as he had been from the sunset on the overlook. You didn’t want to tell him to stop, because after all, from what you could tell they were tears of happiness. As overwhelmed as he was, you knew that he would be feeling more than better after he started getting used to the brand new adventure you two would share.

 

“What do you say, Flowey?” You asked, and he blinked back at you with a small smile. You chuckled “Ready for a new playground?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > *sobs uncontrollably while imagining Flowey's main on overwatch and vs.'ing him*


	35. We Find a New PLAYGROUND

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“You were really recording that?!”_ Flowey whispered harshly into your ear...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >This is the end, but it's not technically 'the end'. There's one final chapter after this, though this is the final chapter that relates to Flowey and the Reader.
> 
> >Thank you all so much for traveling with me on this journey. I feel like I was a completely different person when I first started writing this. I've met so many great fans, I've seen amazing fanart, and I feel like my writing has improved as well(seriously, read the first chapter compared to this chapter and I'd like to hope I'm right!)
> 
> >With that all being said, Q&A's are officially open on my **[sideblog here!](http://straightooc.tumblr.com)** This literally means you can ask me anything and everything about this fanfic and I'll be more than happy to tell ya'll what I can. Headcanon's, canon's involving the fanfic, things of that nature. Of course Undertale headcanon's and questions are allowed also~  
>  >I'll also be sharing some never before published chapters to my sideblog as well because... I worked too hard on them tbh to not share them. Obviously if you don't want these chapters to spoil the view you take on the story, don't read them... but they'll be available for your viewing pleasure. These unpublished chapters involve alternate endings mainly, but there's also a goofy chapter that I had meant to publish around April and just... wound up too busy to post it... XD
> 
> >And finally that one thing I said centuries ago? I'm holding a contest! **["Draw Newspaper!"](http://straightooc.tumblr.com/post/167839353621/draw-newspaper-contest)** With the first prize being a **free one shot fanfic from yours truly!** Click the link and spread the word!
> 
> >Thank you for choosing PLAYGROUND. It's time to let the happiness rest...

###  **Chapter Thirty-Five:** ** _We Find a New PLAYGROUND_**

If Frisk found out you did this, they would definitely kill you. Just the sheer thought was forcing you through flashbacks of the showdown you faced with a pissed-off ambassador.

 

It wasn’t like you didn’t trust him to be on his own, in fact it was the opposite. After all, he had gone years and  _ years  _ living on his own Underground. It had been under  _ Frisk’s _ rules to not leave Flowey alone for more than a minute, not yours. And technically it was the only rule, a simple one at that, given to you for the sake of keeping Flowey in check for as long as he would live on the surface. You had specific rules, and very few, to abide by and yet here you were… having decided  _ ‘Hey, Flowey could be on his own no biggy!’ _

But the reminder that literally  _ everyone  _ knew Frisk, and  _ anyone  _ could report Flowey being off and about by his lonesome could get the both of you into a huge shitfest of trouble. You tried not to think about the possibilities of what punishments Frisk would come up with… after all, the worst case scenario would be Frisk deciding Flowey would have to go back Underground. But you tried to tell yourself that couldn’t possibly happen, considering Frisk and a few others were already planning out ways to turn the Underground into a museum.

 

However, Frisk was just as creative as you were—so who knew what they could come up with.

 

You just continued to repeat the words  _ ‘I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead’ _ over and over in your head as you grabbed as much as you could remember needing. You were running terribly late as is, and now you had to remind yourself about what Flowey already had versus what you would need. It was the first time in a while that the both of you had a chance to spend at least a moment by yourselves, and finally you two had decided on a picnic but you were  _ late  _ because you were an  _ idiot _ .

 

Flowey had said he grabbed the food and most of the important items, but other than that, he would need the condiments for the burgers and fries.  _ What were those? _ Maybe just… ketchup, mustard, pickles… some salt…?

 

_ “Crap.” _ You scolded yourself, and with a heavy sigh you were tossing things into your bag. The only item you didn’t toss so roughly was the salt, which you placed in a plastic bag first before tossing in, everything else was victim to your thrown abuse. The plastic and glass containers clunked together noisily as you slugged your backpack over your shoulders to slip your arms through the straps. And before dipping out the front door of your excessively clean apartment(other than the speckles of loose dirt at the window), you rushed to the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. With a small huff, you tried to give yourself a look over.

 

It had only been a week since you returned to the surface with Flowey. Last week, the festivities Frisk had planned out were mainly going to Grillby’s bar to hang out with people, reuniting with Toriel and Asgore, and having videogame and movie nights with Frisk’s  _ cool gang _ of monsters. The week had been so busy and hectic, and as much as you were trying to open up and go out more, you  _ really  _ wanted some down time with your significant other; which this picnic was supposed to be your chance.

 

You also needed this to help Flowey feel a bit more, well,  _ wanted. _

 

Most of the events that Frisk had plotted out for your arrival were, unfortunately, all planned around  _ you _ and  _ you alone _ … so there were a few awkward instances where a cake was pulled out with your name on it and  _ ‘Welcome back! We missed you!’ _ scrawled in delicious frosting, and everyone would nervously look at Flowey for some type of reaction. On the outside, Flowey seemed alright with it and was rather neutral to it all. He didn’t talk all that much, but he shared a smile now and again as he simply clung to you as usual while you drank and chatted away—but talking it over with him in private proved otherwise. He still had trouble fitting in or feeling like he belonged, Flowey even claimed that the parties they had planned for you made him feel even less wanted because Frisk had never wanted him back on the surface to begin with. But no matter how down Flowey felt about the abundance of favors and flatteries you were receiving, you made certain to remind him that he would always have a place beside you.

 

You two also had a lot of sex to make up for him being down in the dumps considering some of those drunk nights at Grillby’s lead to him guiding you to your apartment then taking care of you in the bedroom, so you figured he  _ perked up a bit— _ har har.

 

Besides, once you found out how Flowey truly felt after some of these shindigs, you spoke with Frisk about him feeling awkward and left out of the loop. So the next event after your conversation resulted in Frisk also shoving Flowey’s name on anything that had yours on it. As the week went by, Frisk and the others started to push Flowey more and more to get him involved and help him feel included in their little circle of friendship. Flowey was starting to feel a lot more comfortable by the end of the week, if not comfortable he was feeling more irritable and wanting his own space too, and though he was still learning to deal with his emotions and how life worked on the surface… you always made sure to keep him, and the world, in check.

Just the thought of Flowey smiling and enjoying himself made your heart flutter, and when you returned to reality and stared at yourself in the bathroom mirror, you saw your dumb grin planted on your face and snorted. The you of the past would have never appreciated simple things like going out, enjoying time with friends, having a  _ boyfriend  _ of all things… let alone a boyfriend who was a  _ flower.  _ But you liked to think that, if you ever could, writing a letter to your old self to tell them things would get better… they’d believe it. Maybe.  _ Just a little bit. _

 

Inspecting your hair, you furrowed your brows at the sight of more yellow petals speckled along your scalp. You were slightly annoyed, but it couldn’t exactly be helped, so all you did was what you had been doing since returning to the surface… you grabbed for the tweezers and yanked away. And after a bit of plucking and whining, you were all set and ready to go.

You rechecked your back pack before heading out the apartment door, rushing down the stairs and holding the railing as to make certain you didn’t tumble to your demise. You darted out the front door of the complex and jogged past your car; reminding yourself that you still owed money to Frisk for helping you buy an extra set of keys to get you driving again. And during your jog you found yourself rushing past a lot of people who would wave at you with smiles on their faces, as if you were someone of importance. It was a bizarre feeling, considering before the ‘fall’ you were dead set on ignoring the world; bee-lining to work and back home in an endless loop, hiding in your apartment every night, only going out if you needed groceries and not to socialize or bump into Frisk or anyone you knew. But throughout last week during the festivities, you took the liberty of greeting people you would walk past, trying to smile more and show people that you were trying to be  _ new _ and  _ improved. _ Apparently it had been working, since humans and monsters alike were remembering your name as they shouted and waved at you as you rushed past.

It was a great feeling, actually. Feeling  _ appreciated  _ and  _ wanted.  _ You felt rather… uplifted. Your life was changing so fast, and this time it was actually in a  _ good  _ way. You were pushing and trying to do something with yourself. Your whole adventure had given you a reality check that it was time to move from the past and make way for the future. There was something in the air that cleared your head at the realization that there were many opportunities to make great friends having been lost because of your closed off personality… but there was always time to make more. You had plenty of chances now to make amends and befriend as many people as you could.

It wasn’t just you making friends with others, either. Apparently a  _ lot  _ of people had been wanting to get to know you for a long while now. Of course, unfortunately for you, you were only known as ‘ _ the co-worker of the ambassador’ _ for the longest time. It couldn’t be helped since you were never around to defend yourself and give a different title, but now people knew you by name, and you knew  _ them  _ by name too!

Alphys and Undyne, apparently, were two of the many people that had been wanting to get to know you better. Coincidentally(and embarrassingly) the lovers had been wanting to hang out with you more ever since that incident centuries ago when you walked in on them watching hentai. Apparently the fact that you didn’t seem  _ bothered  _ or  _ grossed out  _ was enough for them to deem you as ‘cool people.’ And secretly,  _ you were ecstatic to be their friend considering you were slowly growing more and more fond of anime and porn. _

 

Pushing your mushy thoughts aside, you finally spotted the public park not too far off. You were practically panting like a dog as you tried to push towards the finish line. Once you made your way past the empty playground, thankfully absent of anyone who could have reported your ass, you saw Flowey not too far off basking in the warm sun amongst a flowerbed of wild daisies. With a red and white checkered blanket beside him, and a picnic basket on top to keep the gentle breeze from blowing it away, he seemed almost peaceful as he aimed his head upward to let the rays soak into his face and petals. That was, of course, until he heard your running footsteps along the grass. It wasn’t until you were stomping your way over the daisies and wheezing like a marathon runner that Flowey had dipped and turned his head in your general direction, and glared daggers at you. And you could  _ definitely  _ feel those daggers—unless that was just you feeling faint from not being the exercise type.

 

“What the  _ fuck… _ ” Flowey snapped instantly at your arrival, though in a lowered tone as to not attract attention. You gasped for breath, bending your legs as you rested your hands on your knees and shook your head before replying with a weak “ _ Love you too. _ ”

 

“I had to hide and just… hang out in the fucking  _ dirt _ because you took too long!” Flowey continued as he watched you sit yourself on the blanket and remove your backpack “Not to mention, there were a few times I had to scare off some little  _ thieves _ who just assumed someone left a picnic out in the open for  _ anyone  _ to snack on.”

 

“I’m really sorry, Flowey~!” You whined then, now lifting your arms to air out your pits. Flowey knew you so well, because he immediately growled “Don’t do that, that’s disgusting.”

 

“I ran so far~” You whined more as you did as instructed. You lowered your arms and began to remove the condiments from your bag; pickles, mustard, ketchup, and whatever else you managed to toss in there. Flowey seemed to approve most of your choices, and began to set up the plates and buns “It might be a bit cold now, but hopefully it’s still good.”

 

“Is this a new recipe?” You asked as you watched him serve a burger patty on your bread. Noticing that they were speckled with green dots, maybe some sort of leafy vegetables added into the mix, you questioned “Vegetarian?”

“If that’s what you call meatless meat, then sure.” Flowey said simply. You snickered “You’ll have to try the real thing eventually, you know that, right? When we’re both more free and people are less  _ active _ , we can go to actual restaurants and go sightseeing.”

Flowey seemed to wrinkle his non-existent nose at this. It was rather comical how in the Underground he was more than willing to read every single book and practice every single thing to learn about as much as he possibly could, and yet when he had reached the surface every chance you got to introduce him to something new he shot down almost instantly. This included trying out  _ actual _ meat or different foods, because apparently the looks of it didn’t seem appetizing to him. Flowey claimed to enjoy the aromas but hated how greasy and  _ drippy  _ it appeared. But other than trying out different dishes, he didn’t like the idea of going to the movies or wandering around so much in public, either. A guy who claimed to not care about how others saw him seemed to suddenly worry about being spotted in a public setting. There were some events last week that he had started  _ insisting  _ that you go by yourself and leave him in your apartment, but you just couldn’t do that. Not just because it was technically against the rules(which you were going to discuss with Frisk about it being alright to at  _ least _ leave him at the apartment alone), but because he needed to get used to the surface world and being around people.

With a small shrug then, you started to top off your burger with plenty of your preferred choice of condiments, before giving it a bite. You didn’t really need to critique his cooking capabilities, considering he was rather  _ masterful _ with creating new dishes, recipes, or even when looking up ideas online or in books he could nail it on the head often times on his first try. But of course that didn’t change the fact that Flowey  _ did  _ want your opinion on the burger. He didn’t pick his up or decorate his own, he simply watched as you chewed and swallowed down your first bite. His stare was so intense that it was honestly making you uncomfortable—you had better say what you thought about it now before he forced it out of you.

 

“Flowey you know I love all your food.” You complimented. Not good enough, though. Flowey glared at you again “That’s it?”

 

“What do you want me to say?” You huffed, taking another bite. After the run you finished, you felt like you were  _ starving _ “It’s delicious! Like everything else you make!” You then froze, before grinning and winking at him with your mouth still full “ _ Like everything ELSE you make~” _

 

Flowey let out a small noise under his breath before finally picking up his own burger and taking a bite out of it “I guess I have to ask  _ professionals _ to critique my food now that I’m up here… since you like to joke around so much.”

 

“Professionals like Muffet?” You asked, already half way done with your burger just as he was preparing his first bite. Starvation waits for no one.

 

Flowey scoffed “Muffet cooks with dead bodies, I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

 

You didn’t dig through the basket until you had finished your burger, remembering that Flowey had also sliced and fried some fries for the both of you to enjoy  _ with  _ your meal. Now it would be a second dinner for you as you served some of the lightly fried potatoes onto both your plates and whipped out the salt. It was while you were seasoning the fries for you both that Flowey had suddenly began hesitating in eating more of his meal. As if you placing fries on his plate had caused him to no longer want to eat, he uncurled his vine from around the breaded non-meat substance and placed it back down on the plate. You frowned at this as you brought a fry to your lips “Flowey? Is everything okay?”

 

“I had…” He swallowed, suddenly he was unable to look you dead in the eye like before “I got worried, I think. I was... starting to panic.”

You paused, blinking in a bit of confusion at his comment. Though as you thought over his words a bit more, you realized what he had meant. To confirm your thoughts, Flowey let out a nervous laugh, his eyes still focused more on his plate rather than you “I was worried you wouldn’t show up… I know it’s a stupid thought, but it’s hard to think that all of this isn’t a dream. I’m still having trouble believing that… any of this is real. That I’m  _ really  _ here.” He finally lifted his gaze up to you, his shy smile faltered slightly.

You returned the gentle grin, leaning down to place a kiss on his topmost petal “It’s only been a week, okay? Don’t rush yourself… things take time, especially something as big as moving above ground after twenty or so years of solitary  _ underground  _ confinement. Don’t push too hard, and eventually you’ll be so used to everything that you won’t remember ever being underground.” You smiled rather proudly at the comment, though Flowey pouted at this. You wrinkled your nose when he had stretched a vine to poke at it, commenting softly “Living underground isn’t something I want to forget.” A light blush revealed itself on his cheeks “After all, it’s how I met you.  _ Of all people.” _

 

You snorted “Hey, rude.”

 

Flowey snickered gently, but you could tell it was slightly forced now. He probably felt a bit awkward and embarrassed over how he was feeling; he had often expressed feeling pretty bad about killing the mood with his negative or melancholic thoughts, but you also knew that he was trying to move forward from a lot of past trauma he needed help handling. This wasn’t a thing that could be solved overnight, or in a week… and who knew if he would ever be able to move on from it. Some nights he wound up wide awake staring out into the night from the windowpane, questioning not just his own existence but the existence of the universe and whether he was simply in a dream or not. He was a brooding flower who wound up having an existential crisis every so often at the cost of being free, but you loved him either way and you were thankful he was here with you. You thought about how maybe he would need to see a professional about something like this, but then again you didn’t want to pressure him or bring up the idea until he was more settled in.

 

“And I’m glad you snapped my vine and almost killed me.” You slyly remarked as you started to stuff your mouth with the fries from your plate. Flowey’s shy expression had been wiped clean then “Hey! How many times am I gonna have to apologize--!”

 

“I’m  _ joking~ _ ” You cooed and snorted lightly, before shaking your head “But honestly, if that hadn’t happened who knows where we’d be… I would have climbed down, did a look around, then climbed back up and go home without ever having met you. Everything that happened helped us get closer together, and I don’t regret a single thing.”

Flowey’s mouth was finally full of his own meal, actually starting back to eating and thus implying his mood had shifted back to being chipper. If not chipper and peppy, he was at least content for the moment. You had finished off your own plate long before he had finished his, and the full feeling made you plop over onto your back against the blanket to stare up at the clear skies overhead. The day was slowly growing later, it hadn’t gotten dark just yet, but the beautiful skies full of clouds were expressing gradients of oranges, pinks, and light shades of purples. The gentle breeze started to get cooler as time passed as well, and it wasn’t long until Flowey finally finished his own meal and decided to invade your vision with his own face. Poking his head out to peek over you as you lied down, he quickly leaned in and planted a soft kiss against your lips. The sudden gesture surprised you, but you were quick to return the affection just before he pulled away.

 

“Thank you.” Flowey commented gently, a small smile pushing its way forward as he showed sincere love towards you. Your own face was starting to blush from the sudden attention you were receiving. Even you began to question when you would ever get used to him being so  _ gentle  _ with you now. You couldn’t help but snort, covering your face and mumbling “ _ Don’t thank me, I didn’t do anything…” _

 

But with that, a low mumble came from Flowey as he let his vines slide under your hands to pull them away from your face. He practically purred “You’re cute when you blush like that~”

“Flowey don’t you dare—“ Your breathing hitched just as his head dipped into the crook of your neck “We’re in public…!”

Flowey only snickered as he placed multiple kisses along your skin, sending shivers down your spine with each smooch as you squirmed in his sudden vine-wrapped embrace. As much as you secretly enjoyed the thrill of doing something  _ dirty _ in public, you weren’t sure you were ready for the consequences just yet. But as if reading your mind, Flowey had suddenly stopped his actions and pulled his head away. You breathed out lightly and combed your hand through your hair as you averted your gaze from his, though apparently he didn’t stop for your sake—because suddenly he let a vine reach into your hair and yank something really hard that caused you to yelp.

 

“Ow!” You hissed “Flowey, what the hell!”

 

“They’re getting bigger.” He remarked plainly. At first you were confused, but that was until he held out what he had been commenting on. There in his vine was the long and rather large yellow petal that had been plucked from your head. Apparently, even as big as it was, it had been hidden in your hair somehow. You pouted at this and carefully sat up, taking the petal from him to inspect a bit more closely. Trying not to get serious about it, you commented coyly “ _ You’re  _ getting bigger.” You snorted and winked.

Flowey breathed out “I mean it, look.” He let his leaf poke the petal lightly, ignoring your dirty comment as he mentioned lowly “They look almost as big as mine…”

You swallow “Yeah, looks like it. I tried to fix myself up before getting here, it was another reason I wound up running late.”

“We can uh…” Flowey took in a deep breath at this, as if what he were about to say would be dramatic “…we can stop whenever you want, you know…”

“It’s not  _ that  _ big of a deal, Flowey.” You chuckled, though you took a mental note to remind yourself to maybe ask Alphys if she would be able to help you figure this out. You were secretly embarrassed about asking her, hence why nothing much had been done to figure it out. Maybe you would ask her when it got more  _ out of hand _ … but for now, it was something you could control.

 

Your phone suddenly went off, interrupting your thoughts with the all too familiar ringtone that sang only when one person in particular called you. They used to have a ringtone just like everyone else’s back then, however since you needed a new smartphone anyway, you asked Frisk for help and thus they were the first number shoved into your phone. Not to mention, they decided on the ringtone that would ‘fit them best’. Apparently it was a rather cute and giddy-sounding Mettaton jingle, the same one that played on TV when advertising most of Mettaton’s merchandise. While you definitely could have picked something better to fit Frisk’s theme song considering you officially saw a darker side to them than you could ever wish for, Frisk also made you promise to never change it without their permission. It was your phone, but they helped you pick it out and everything so you figured why not. And thus, you knew who was calling.

 

You were quick to pick it up, though just as you had done so Flowey didn’t hesitate to mumble  _ ‘cock block’  _ into the receiver before you could even greet Frisk. You fumbled with the phone after he said that, glaring at Flowey as he maneuvered himself away and already began cleaning around the picnic area. You cleared your throat “Sorry about that! That was Flowey!”

 

_ “Obviously.” _ Frisk commented with a chuckle  _ “I didn’t call at a bad time did I? Though if you guys were having sex I’m guessing I saved you since you’re answering the phone it must’ve been bad—“ _

 

The remark made you laugh, but that only caused Flowey to eye you suspiciously. You covered your mouth quickly to calm down before waving him off.

 

Flowey grunted before finishing his cleaning as you replied back “No! Nothing like that honest—We were just on a picnic date thing—we just finished up actually.” With that being said, you looked back to Flowey and gave him a questionable thumbs up just to be certain that the two of you were done. He returned it with his leaf, to the best of his ability, to confirm your reply and you verbally repeated to also confirm again “Yeah we just finished. What’s up?”

_ “Well I guess there’s no point for the food thing but…” _ Frisk started, making similar noises to that of someone now balancing the phone against their shoulder and holding it in place with their head. It sounded muffled and forever moving, as if Frisk really did have trouble keeping it from falling out of his grasp  _ “I was calling a bunch of people to come over to mom’s house for dinner. It’d be like a dinner and a movie thing. I know last week was more so the week of parties and what not _ ,  _ but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep plotting out more hang outs like those to get Flowey more comfortable _ .” After that, and you not exactly replying, they added a small  _ “Maybe.” _ That you could imagine Frisk shrugging their shoulders lightly at. It was honestly a sweet gesture that Frisk was still gun-ho for trying to get Flowey to feel more comfortable being on the surface. You even questioned whether this hangout plan was meant for you or mostly for the flower’s sake.

_ “Since you guys ate already, you can even just stop by later rather than immediately. Folks are coming over now since food’s almost ready, but it’s fine if you need time.” _

If you asked Flowey, he would most likely reject the idea of going out and would want to just go back to the apartment. But you instead didn’t bother, and simply replied with a quick “Definitely! We’ll be there in a bit, then!”

_ “Great! See you later!” _

And you hung up. Flowey had the basket already packed, all that remained was the red-checkered blanket that you were still laying on. You rolled yourself off of it and into the patch of daisies so that Flowey could begin folding it up. Knowingly, Flowey dared to ask “What did you get us into this time?”

 

“We’re invited to dinner and some movie at Toriel’s place.” You replied softly. “But since we just ate, Frisk said we can just show up later.”

 

Flowey’s folding seemed to pause at this, but then with a light huff he returned to folding up the sheet before packing it into the basket “ _ Perfect. _ ” He commented rather sarcastically. You knew it couldn’t be helped, he had only reunited with Toriel and Asgore once last week, and even on that day he pretended to not know them. Frisk even noted this, and while you and Frisk figured it might’ve been for the best, maybe it was taking a toll on Flowey having to pretend to not know them.

You and Frisk understood why he didn’t want to claim to know them, it even proved harder for you to introduce Flowey to them considering… well, it was difficult in general to introduce Flowey to  _ anyone  _ at this point as ‘boyfriend.’ But in the end you and Frisk noted that the Dreemurr’s got closure long ago over the loss of their son, and all that would happen if Flowey claimed to have been  _ ‘risen from the ashes of their child’  _ were old wounds bursting open; painfully, at that. It was all for the best, but it didn’t stop Flowey from not wanting to be around them all too much. He even seemed more willing to hang around Sans than he was with the Dreemurr’s.

But, according to Frisk, that was due to something the two had in common since Flowey reached the surface. Sans and Flowey both shared moments of  _ existential panic _ over their being and the world around them. Whatever beef Flowey had Underground which resulted in the ‘Smiley Trashbag’ nickname seemed to fade away—at least somewhat. There would always be some strange rivalry between them from what you witnessed during the videogame nights of last week, but other than that they seemed to be content with each other’s presence. After Frisk had explained that Sans suffered the same issues as Flowey now and again, you even plotted the two of them just having a hangout together on their own. That was another thing you’d have to ask Frisk when it came to their  _ rulebook  _ on what Flowey could or couldn’t do. But it was another nice thing you and Frisk apparently shared, having to help those you care about in handling their inner turmoil’s and struggles.

 

So far, you had a large list of things to ask Frisk, and of course Alphys too. You figured asking either of them any of this tonight wouldn’t really be fitting, so you had to take another mental note to ask at a more appropriate time.

 

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” You said softly as you lifted Flowey on your arm. You took your backpack and simply pushed it into the picnic basket for easier handling, and used your other hand to carry it. The both of you quietly walked your way back to the apartment, admiring the skies as they began to darken and the stars began to freckle through. The street lights lit up the night by the time the two of you made it back, in which you also figured you would need a better change of clothes and a decent shower since you had sweated through the ones you were currently wearing. When you were fully dressed, Flowey sat you down on the floor next to the edge of the bed so that he could mess with your hair and pluck out any other petals that may be hiding around on your scalp. He made a small comment about how, at the rate they were growing, you’d leave a trail of petals wherever you walked—but the thought of that made you nervous and you tried to shake it off. You weren’t sure you were ready for something like that. You were already questioning whether you would lose all your hair and it be replaced with flowers.

 

During Flowey’s hair salon appointment he had set up for you without you knowing(him fiddling around with your hair was taking longer than you had hoped), Frisk had sent you a text that you read rather quickly to distract your mind from things. Though all that it really asked was if Flowey would be alright with coming over.

 

_ ‘i can ask them to leave, if u think thatd be easier for him?’ _ Frisk had sent the text out of concern for Flowey being around Toriel and Asgore. They did add something else that made you question it though, considering suddenly another text was sent reading  _ ‘the ‘movie’ we picked out might be kinda embarrassing for flowey XD;; ’ _

 

Should you ask Flowey? Should you just go for it? You shrugged your shoulders at yourself. Flowey didn’t want to make it that big of a deal being around Toriel and Asgore, so why should either of you? You replied rather quickly that everything would be fine, and if all else fails the two of them would have to just change the subject. You mentally prepared yourself for whatever movie they might’ve picked out, but when Flowey was finally done brushing and picking through your hair, the two of you were ready to go.

 

* * *

You and Flowey took the car, since Toriel’s place wasn’t exactly as close as the park had been, and set off on the city streets. You both questioned each other back and forth about how to behave around people, as if you both needed coaching. Neither of you were all too great around big groups, but even you knew you were probably better off than Flowey was.

By the time you got there and parked your car across the street from the large yet very homey establishment, you and Flowey sat in the car and prepped one another. Most of the questions about ‘what to do’ were directed towards Flowey, who still had a tendency to act out when his emotions were overwhelming him. He may have been the more intelligent between the both of you, but his one weakness was when someone got him upset or angry enough to lash out. And from Frisk’s warning about the chosen film being  _ embarrassing for mainly Flowey _ , you were concerned about him getting aggravated and deciding to impale everyone on twelve foot vines than actually using his words.

 

“I’m being serious.” You commented with a snicker, after Flowey answered your question of  _ ‘what do you say if someone offers you food you don’t like?’ _ with a  _ ‘get that shit out of my face!’ _

 

“I’d say  _ ‘No, but thanks for the offer jackass.”  _ Flowey said instead.

 

You breathed out, and he simply stretched his head closer to you to give you a quick smooch “I know what to say, last week felt like a dumb training camp for crap like this. And we’ve been over this stuff hundreds of times.” He lowered his gaze then, letting his vines slowly slide over the palms of your hands before grasping them lightly “But… just in case either of us gets stressed, maybe we can have a safety word?”

The both of you knew that a ‘safe word’ was used during sex if things got too rough and one of you needed an out. But the idea of using one in the case of Flowey or you having a panic attack didn’t seem all too bad. You smiled at the suggestion, pressing your forehead to his and nodding “Sure thing, what do you want it to be?”

 

Flowey kept himself pressed against you as he shrugged his leaves like shoulders. He couldn’t seem to think of anything, but you simply suggested “Maybe we can just use  _ ‘daisy.’ _ How’s that sound?”

 

“Better than what I was gonna suggest.” He commented, slowly pulling away from you and allowing you to unlock the car doors. You blinked as you opened your own door to step out “Dare I ask… what would your suggestion have been?” All the while Flowey opened his own side and crawled his way to the top of the vehicle before shutting the door behind him. He hummed gently “Pickled potatoes.”

Here you thought he would’ve been perverted with it, but all he could come up with were  _ pickled potatoes? _ You laughed at this lightly, shaking your head from his suggestion “I thought it’d be worse than that, but you’re right... daisy does sound better.” Once you made your way over towards him and held out your arm for him to embrace, you both made your way across the street.

 

Now that you had actually seen how large the original Dreemurr castle was before they had moved out here, this house might have been huge but was nothing compared to that. You never seemed as astounded before as you had been today, suddenly the house seemed way more inviting than back when you were in school still. Maybe because things were changing for the better finally. With a small smile and a quick look to Flowey for confirmation, it was once he gave a light nod of his head that you rang the doorbell and took in a deep breath.

Last week had been the first time in what felt like years since Toriel and Asgore had last seen you, it had been so long that they pulled you into a heavy bear hug that took your breath away. You were hoping that wouldn’t be the case this time, though you also suspected better of them considering it wound up being awkward between the once married couple last week after said hug resulted in the two of them grasping arms. Toriel’s eyes seemed to light ablaze from the sheer  _ touch _ of Asgore, and Asgore was seen shuffling himself away in a sulking manner off and about for the rest of the event. Maybe it was just because now you knew their story on how they wound up divorcing, but back then you felt they got along a lot better than now… maybe you simply didn’t notice because you didn’t care before. Either way, you treated them both like the parents you wish you had around—and even Frisk called both of them ‘Mom and Dad’ whether they were divorced or not.

 

You felt like you had been standing outside for a while then, and you were just about to whip out your phone before the large front door finally opened. There the older woman stood, towering over you both in her warm glory. Toriel gave a heartwarming smile as she peered down at you both with her ruby red gaze, a smile you returned but had to force out of Flowey.

Flowey still didn’t seem to budge, but apparently Toriel didn’t mind as she welcomed you both in “Welcome! I am so glad to see you again! I know the invite was such short notice, so I do apologize.” The goat monster stepped off to the side to allow you and Flowey space to enter the already cozy home. The smell of cinnamon wafted throughout the front room, probably coming from the kitchen that, from your bit of memory of the place, wasn’t far off anyway. You were concerned with Flowey being able to handle the familiar smells, but he seemed unmoved by it still. You would probably ask him if he was alright anyway once Toriel wasn’t nearby anymore, but for now you would just have to hope for the best.

Once Toriel shut the door behind you two, the warmth of the home now encased you as you felt that enjoyable coziness. It wasn’t even near the winter months just yet, and yet somehow you felt ready for warm pajamas and a mug of hot chocolate.

 

Toriel wore a beautiful yet simple red dress that matched her eyes and her lightly blushing cheeks. The material looked rather shimmery and silky, embroidered in its design were simple diamond and triangular patterns that made the dress rather symmetrical and yet very simplistic. The only thing that made her feel ‘homey’ was the white apron wrapped around her waist that was covered in a mixture of flour’s and other smudges. You almost felt underdressed by the sight of her, but she didn’t really care to comment on your choice of clothing as she gestured “I am making some butterscotch cinnamon pie per Frisk’s request, but I am baking plenty for everyone. I know you will enjoy it as well—“ She paused, Toriel gave a nervous laugh “Since I had not made it last week, I figured now would be the perfect time.”

 

“I haven’t had that pie in forever it feels like.” You commented happily at the thought of having a slice, and Toriel seemed quite pleased from your reaction as she clasped her paws together “Ah, yes! It has been quite some time! I will even offer a slice to your boyfriend here.” She then gestured to Flowey, who was either still not used to the label, or was just suddenly embarrassed from the attention as his cheeks flushed red. Flowey mumbled softly “Ah, thanks. Sounds great.”

“Everyone is in the living room waiting for you both. I presume it is yet another evening of trying to out-best each other. What was it Frisk often called it… salt-wars or something.” She then said, before turning and making her way back towards the kitchen(probably) “Please make yourself at home!”

“Out best each other?” You questioned, but it was too late since she was already gone. You weren’t sure what she meant by that, but maybe it had something to do with the choice of movie. Salt-Wars sounded like some play on words, you weren’t sure exactly what that meant either. All you could do was wait and see, you supposed.

 

Before you could even begin removing your shoes, you heard running footsteps not too far off in another room. Lifting your head from the floor you spotted Frisk and Alphys dashing their way into the foyer with you and Flowey, almost too excited to see you both. Frisk was laughing, but between breaths they commented “Look—okay listen—“

They wound up wheezing and hunching forward, Alphys giggle-snorting and having to finish it off for them “W-We’re waiting for Toriel to join us, but we’re glad you guys could make it!”

 

“Ms. Toriel mentioned something about ‘ _ salt wars _ ’ or trying to out best each other?” You questioned quickly as you hurried out of your shoes. Frisk and Alphys gave each other some silly look, before Alphys mentioned “I wouldn’t call it salt wars--”

 

“It’s all in good fun, honest!” Frisk cleared up with a wave of their hands, almost in an ‘X’ motion as if what Toriel was saying seemed too descriptive; if not that then Toriel had the wrong attitude about it perhaps. Now you wondered if the term ‘salt’ implied… if things were going to be rather rough and cause tension, you weren’t sure you wanted to partake in any of it. As if spotting this shift in attitude, Alphys cleared her throat nervously to snap you out of it “If anything, by all means tell us to uh… c-calm down and we will, promise!”

 

Ever since reaching the end of the Underground, you had laid witness to multiple sides of Frisk you didn’t know existed. Frisk had a funny and goofy side, Frisk had a strict and serious side, and Frisk had a business side to them. Tonight was apparently a night where you would see a teasing and… possibly cruel side… a side you weren’t sure you were ready for.

 

_ Daisy,  _ You thought.

 

“The movie’s almost set up again and… and I think you guys will really  _ love it _ .” Frisk wheezed again, then they added quickly “Flowey you like cooking shows, right?”

 

For some reason, something in the back of your head clicked. Your curious and confused smile had dropped as Frisk laughed and turned away to dart back off to the living room. Flowey seemed confused still, even bothering to ask “Why would they ask and then run off like that?” But apparently that was the joke, since Alphys was giggling. She had decided to wait for you both to be finished before walking with you to the living room like a tour guide.

Your heart was racing suddenly, because what you thought would be some sort of flower show of some kind that would embarrass Flowey—now felt completely related to you somehow too. You were now at the edge of your seat without even having sat down yet as you reached the spacious room where you saw just how many people had been invited to the shindig. Asgore wasn’t anywhere in sight, which was somewhat expected since it was Toriel’s home, after all. But Alphys joined her girlfriend Undyne on the couch, where the couple sat right beside Papyrus and Sans, who gave you both a quick and cheesy wave. Papyrus looked ready to say something to Flowey, but Sans was quick to cover his mouth and continue to wave at the two of you.

You looked to Flowey somewhat nervously now, and he only returned a confused look as Sans spoke up “Heya, kiddos. Welcome to tha show~”

Undyne suddenly howled with laughter just as Frisk had whispered something to her. Frisk had stood behind the couch where everyone else was seated, and with no more space on the couch for yourself, you were practically forced to sit down on the floor in front of them. You didn’t look back at them however, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t until you faced forward and got comfortable in your floor position that you recognized the face that was on the large screen.

 

Flowey, Flowey was on screen with a rather embarrassed expression on his face. It didn’t take long for you to recognize that this was the MTT studio where the both of you fooled around pretending to record a live cooking show. Your face was heating up and you could feel Flowey’s vines doing the same thing. He was practically boiling against your skin, and all he could do was hide his face against you as you were forced to be the brave one just as Frisk commented coyly “I’ll rewind it when mom joins us with some pies, we’ve already watched it so many times though— oh but don’t worry! There’s no  _ honey involved!” _

 

The room blasted out with laughter and you could have probably died. The text Frisk had given you wasn’t just a warning to Flowey, but it was a warning to you that they would be giving you the full-fledged ‘friend treatment’ tonight of embarrassing antics and stories. And unfortunately it started with you and Flowey’s cooking show.

 

Apparently what Toriel had mentioned before about ‘out-besting’ each other meant something along the lines of a roasting. Maybe that was just something they did as friends on random nights like these? They sat around and tried to pick on one another—which for some reason sounded more upsetting than comical. But you had a feeling it was only because you were the butt of the joke.

 

_ “You were really recording that _ ?!” Flowey whispered harshly into your ear, and you quickly defended  _ “I didn’t think that anyone would be able to actually GET the recording! I thought it was just an Underground thing!” _

“This would be l-like… the fifteenth time…!” Alphys snorted a little laugh, covering her snout when you had turned your head around to look at her. Just in time too, since Frisk began rewinding the video anyway and spoke up on their own “You know, let’s just watch it again one more time just to be sure we got the right movie going on.”

 

You glared intensely at Frisk, who seemed to return the look only with a smug and peppy grin of their own. Everyone, including Frisk, had flushed cheeks… whether they were also giddy from the film or whether it was from the sheer laughter you couldn’t tell.

“Frisk’s such a perv.” Undyne snickered out. While that comment did make you feel better, including Alphys adding “They’ve been the one more excited to watch this over and over—“ You were still embarrassed the moment Frisk announced “AND PLAY!” And the makeshift film began.

 

You and Flowey were forced down memory lane all over again, but it definitely wasn’t in a good way. It was back before you two actually established your feelings for one another, and it was full of goofy antics and of course horribly  _ heavy cringy flirting _ .

You watched on the screen as Flowey’s tendrils shifted around searching the cabinets he sat on top of, before an audience applause began to sound out just before you covered the camera with your quickly jotted down title of  _ ‘The Flowey Cooking Network.’ _

 

_ “Hello Underground!” _ You heard your recorded voice cheer with the fake audience just as the title screen was pulled away from the camera  _ “Welcome to another exciting episode of The Flowey Cooking Network!”  _ The grumpy and annoyed Flowey of before was suddenly replaced with a surprisingly perked up Flowey once the camera refocused on him—with his grin wide as he held a rather care free pose. He then proceeded to juggle the fake eggs as you continued with your terrible announcer voice  _ “We’re back with your host, Chef Flowey! Hey Flowey, what’re ya gonna make us today?” _

You lifted your hands to cover your cheeks as the room giggled and chuckled. From the sounds of it, everyone except Papyrus seemed to be enjoying the film. Papyrus didn’t seem to understand what was so funny, and he even commented that he wished he was as peppy as Flowey seemed to be on the show. You were thankful that the innocent probably didn’t get the joke about this—let alone, you knew fully well what was the  _ most hilarious joke of all,  _ out of the whole mock film you and Flowey made. They seemed to laugh lightly at the small bits of sarcastic humor Flowey would dish out, but from Frisk’s comments about ‘ _ honey _ ’ it was easily suspected that everyone knew fully well where that ‘ _ honey _ ’ came from, and that’s what was the most comical of all.

 

This was like a corny porn film to them.

 

On the show Flowey was now stirring the fake ingredients so fast that one of the plastic eggs flew out and off the screen, and then the fake audience began to cry uncontrollably. That got Sans and Undyne hooting with laughter as you fully covered your face just to peek through your fingers. You couldn’t even tell whether Flowey was still watching or not, at this rate you wouldn’t of blamed him for having hidden inside your shirt and away from everyone’s gaze.

 

Real quick you breathed out, mostly directed towards anyone who could even answer the main question you, and Flowey, had in mind “How the  _ hell _ did you guys get ahold of this?! We were just fooling around--!”

 

Alphys managed a little laugh, but while the others ignored you, she actually decided to answer your question “S-Sorry about this, I know it might be embarrassing to you guys b-but it’s really cute and funny! I-I think it’s adorable the sexual tension you two had!” With that being said, she snorted loudly. In turn, the snort caused Undyne to laugh louder and hug the yellow reptilian monster closer to her. Alphys was blushing furiously at this, but before she could get distracted again you quickly turned your head to her and asked once more “But  _ HOW?! _ ”

 

“O-Oh!” She refocused on your question and adjusted her glasses, fumbling a bit as she stammered “I h-had my old U-Undernet phone still connected to my lab in the Underground! When you two turned on my b-backup generator, my phone notified me--! It’s been dead for a while b-but I guess it still has power in case of emergencies…” It was then that you watched Alphys pull herself away from Undyne and the couch and bothered to sit down on the carpeted floor with you. The floor of the living room seemed to fit the boisterous laughter of everyone considering it had been decorated with reds, yellows, and other warm colors. You wanted to laugh  _ with  _ them really badly to make it feel less embarrassing, but you didn’t seem to find much humor in any of this. You were still too embarrassed to even look at Flowey who, only hell knows probably what he’s thinking. Alphys finally made it beside you and you turned your back to the couch, and the dino gave a nervous giggle as she leaned closer to you “B-By the way… when you started the generator, y-you turned on all the camera’s of the Underground s-so… I saw everything…”

You opened your mouth to speak out, knowing fully well her meaning of ‘ _ everything. _ ’ ‘ _ Everything _ ’ meant that she saw you and Flowey throughout her lab fooling around—but as if right on queue she remarked with a pat on your shoulder “D-Don’t worry I won’t say anything th-that’s none of my business…! I-I just wanted to thank you for not… talking about my stash I left down there…”

 

You glanced at her quickly then, noticing her own face completely flushed from her hidden embarrassment. You had almost forgotten that the reason you two even got curious had been because of the few anime films she had left underground. According to her face, she had definitely left them down there on purpose, but there was no doubt that she’d reclaim them before anyone else could. You couldn’t help but smile at her, patting her shoulder softly “Nerd friends for life.” You commented lowly, and Alphys snorted a little laugh again. It had been during the events of last week that you, Undyne, and Alphys had gotten closer and become more acquainted. And while you were still trying to get comfortable with Undyne, with Alphys you two hit it off rather easily.

In that split moment you felt calm then. It was nice that out of all this, you formed a secret truce with someone. You and Alphys simply smiled towards one another as you figured out what to talk about—but of course the reminder of why you were here rang out.

 

_ “The best part is the taste test!”  _ The all too memorable line had finally been announced, just as Undyne, Sans, and Frisk started hooting. You turned to the screen fast, before whipping your head over to Frisk. Whether Flowey was just as fumed as you were, it didn’t matter now! You had enough! Especially because Toriel suddenly called “Alright, dearies! I will be there in a moment!”

 

“Do NOT show this to Ms. Toriel!” You demanded as you hopped up to your feet. From your sudden action, Frisk had paused the film with an arch of their brow and snickered at you “Oh? Or else  _ what _ .”

 

_ “Oooh~” _ Undyne continued hooting, practically jeering on whatever was bound to happen between you and Frisk. Frisk even dangled the remote in a teasing fashion, as if beckoning for you to try and snatch the remove out of their grip. Your teeth were grinding against each other as you tried not to show too much of a scowl. You know it was all in good fun—you just weren’t used to being teased by others… that hadn’t happened since you were little, and even then you had a friend to defend you. Now was the time to defend yourself.

Knowing it was all just a game and reminding yourself not to get too carried away, you looked around the room at all the eyes fixated on you. They were waiting for a comeback, but with the smiles on their faces, obviously they were waiting for something goofy. With that thought in mind, you snorted “Or else I’ll have to lay the smack down.” You even punched a fist into your other hand to imply what  _ smack down _ really meant.

Undyne was the first to burst out into laughter, followed by the chuckling and giggling mess of Sans as both monsters held their stomachs; or in Sans’ case whatever was considered a stomach. Frisk was surprised by this remark to the point where they stopped their teasing remote dangle and blinked at you. You didn’t hesitate to keep the ball rolling though; You crouched and opened your arms out, suddenly taking on the fighting position of a wrestler as if you were preparing to grapple your opponent.

 

“Wow~” Frisk pretended to be amazed before rolling their eyes, their smirk still on their lips “So threatening~ I think we both know who would win,  _ all things considered. _ ”

 

You couldn’t help but notice that Frisk was slyly bringing up the events in the Underground, which you personally thought was in poor taste. Even after Frisk had said this, they had the face of slight regret from their words. What might’ve seemed like a joke to Frisk, was more than that to you  _ and  _ Flowey. Frisk was willing to kill Flowey, not to mention leave you underground with him. But only Sans knew this, because Papyrus started to cackle on with Undyne, and Alphys started giggling as well… but Sans’ laughter had stopped.

Whatever that tactic was, it worked. You were frozen in place staring at Frisk with an annoyed look for too long now. Even though Frisk mouthed a nervous apology, you had gotten irritated enough to even yank Flowey off your shoulder. The golden flower yelped as he was detached from you, finally having made a noise after all this time of silence. You gave him to Papyrus, holding Flowey out to the tall skeleton who almost immediately took him like he were a precious gift.

 

“I have a feeling you’re just  _ jealous _ ~” You suddenly came back as you rounded the couch, just as Frisk went around the opposite end to keep their distance “I bet you just wish Flowey was  _ your  _ boyfriend. Maybe that’s why you have some thirsty need to watch this over and over.”

 

_ “Oooh~” _ Alphys wound up hooting on her own, Papyrus giggled at this and Flowey let out a short train of curses. He also mentioned that the whole situation was ridiculous and he should have never came, you even heard him mutter a line of ‘ _ daisy daisy daisy’  _ as if a safe word would matter at this point. But you pushed those words to the side because you had a feeling Flowey was thankful that the attention was on you and not him. Other than those few noises, Undyne yelled lightly “ _ Weak! _ ”

Frisk’s smirk returned after noting the save you had pulled. It could have gotten awkward if you let it, but you reminded yourself that you were amongst friends. All this time they thought about you and worried over you, and even though Frisk showed it in the strictest way, Frisk was concerned the most about you. They had been there for you for many years, and even when you pushed everyone else away, Frisk worked by your side through most of your school years and your career life. After all, Toriel did warn you in the beginning by calling this event ‘salt wars’. Anything that happened in here was all for fun, so you tried to keep the fun going as Frisk blurted out with a huff and a wink “Really? Tch, everyone knows  _ Sans  _ is my boyfriend.”

 

You snorted out, quickly covering your mouth. You definitely couldn’t tell whether it was the truth or not since even Sans’ eyes grew wide and the lights went out. Now the whole room cheered, even Papyrus suddenly threw his fist in the air after he had safely planted Flowey on the shoulder pad of his dress-up armor “I KNEW IT!!”

From Papyrus’ accusation alone Sans had a blue eye flared in his younger brother’s direction. Your thoughts leaned more towards joking, but Sans’ sudden pink blush started to make you question it. Papyrus saying ‘ _ knew it’  _ was also curious, as if apparently the two were known to go out and hang a lot together. It wasn’t that big of a deal if they were, but it was  _ juicy too _ .

 

“Who wants pie?” Toriel suddenly appeared in the room.

 

Everyone’s heads darted in her direction quickly as the room went silent then, before everyone on the couch started calling out for a slice of pie. Even Flowey had rose his leaf nervously, but eventually mumbled something to Papyrus instead.

 

Frisk fumbled with the remote before pressing play, and you could no longer joke around with the other human of the room. You growled and leaped across the couch, lunging forward and practically landing on top of both the skelebros and the cold blooded couple. They all shouted in their own surprised noises as you lit Frisk ablaze with just your eyes “ **FRISK YOU SHIT!!** ”

 

“I thought we agreed no murder!” Flowey commented, causing Papyrus to laugh just as you squirmed up and over the couch.

 

Frisk had already darted to one corner of the room as you struggled to leap back over the couch, off everyone’s laps, and onto the floor. You quickly recovered and dashed after Frisk. The ambassador shouted as they held the remote up in the air all the while running out of reach every time you got too close to them. Toriel was apparently holding a pie in her hands, but she wound up holding it in the air similar to Frisk as Frisk started running circles around her, and thanks to that and your tunnel vision, you ran circles around her as well. Flowey was cursing up a storm from what you could hear, and from the corner of your eye you spotted Sans covering Papyrus’ ears as if he were the virgin Mary.

 

“What the hell is going on?!” Toriel yelped out finally, but it didn’t stop you from chasing Frisk around her. Soon enough you reached out and simply yanked the human by the collar of their shirt, grinning mischievously before pulling them down to the floor and officially tackling them. Toriel took a moment to stumble away for the sake of her pie, before correcting herself “Heck! I meant heck!”

 

“We’re all adults, Tori.” Sans snorted as you fumbled and play wrestled with Frisk. In the end it didn’t matter that the film was still playing, thankfully you were distracting everyone from watching.

 

You wrapped an arm around Frisk’s neck, quickly flopping them on their stomach and sitting on their back “Say uncle!” You shouted as you started to roughly pull, pretending to choke Frisk as Frisk squirmed beneath you. Frisk yelped out in defiance, but it was obvious you both had strained yourselves, because now you two were panting heavily while trying to wrestle one another to the ground. Frisk even dared to question if this was some sort of new kink of yours—

And while you two yelled back and forth, taking turns tossing one another to the floor, Sans and Undyne were starting to tease and taunt Flowey for being a pervert. And because of this, it caused Flowey’s voice to also raise into a shout as he defended himself and also tried to clap back at Sans. It escalated to Undyne cheering Sans on as he and Flowey wound up in a shouting contest, which aggravated Papyrus and Alphys tried to just calm everyone down. Soon enough your ears were blaring with so many noises that you could barely hear Frisk’s own playful jabs at your ego, they went completely ignored and so did yours as Frisk wound up on top suddenly.

 

          “ **_ENOUGH!_ ** ” 

 

Toriel shouted, her voice boomed so loud that it froze and silenced everyone. You and Frisk held onto one another, but it wasn’t for wrestling purposes—it was simply for protection. All the commotion and chatter had ceased instantaneously, and Toriel was glaring around the room “What on earth has become of you all?” She glanced down at you and Frisk on the floor right by her feet “Why are you two fighting!? You both are friends and should not behave as such!”

 

“We’re playing, mom!” Frisk whined breathlessly. You and Frisk both rolled away from her before lifting to your feet and brushing yourselves off. Frisk continued in both of yours and their own defense “We were just teasing! We—“

 

“Frisk has an embarrassing video of me and I didn’t give them permission to share it!” You blurted out.

 

Frisk quickly turned their head towards you, their face went red from the sudden embarrassment of Toriel’s judgmental gaze. Frisk was glaring daggers at you, but you shared with them nothing but a happy smile before making a heart with your fingers and mouthing the words  _ ‘Love you~’ _ in their direction. Toriel was quick to defend you as she chuckled “Oh? Are we sharing embarrassing stories? I have plenty to share about Frisk!”

 

“Mom no!” Frisk turned away quickly from her and now squirmed their way to sit between Sans and Papyrus, squeezing themselves in even if they didn’t fit the large sofa. They mostly buried their face into Sans’ boney shoulder, probably because Papyrus’ shoulder was still occupied by Flowey, who in turn gave you a light wink. Not knowing at first why he winked at you, you glanced to the TV screen and noticed that the film had ended. Crisis averted!

“I just love talking of the time when me and Frisk first met!” Toriel started to get giddy from the memory, and though the other monsters began giggling as if having heard of the story before, Toriel looked to you knowingly “Have I ever told you about how  _ flirtatious _ Frisk was as a child? They still are very flirty but back then they were so—“

 

_ “Someone kill me.”  _ Frisk mumbled. It was rather comical that Frisk was acting like a teenager—in fact, you hadn’t seen so many expressions on Frisk in your whole life. You were suddenly overwhelmed with the blissful thought that you and Frisk had reached a new level of friendship thanks to what had happened underground. The neutral and relaxed tone of Frisk seemed like it had been torn away the moment you two had confronted one another—now you couldn’t even imagine Frisk looking as neutral as they used to.

 

“Frisk was so quick to claim me as their mother.” Toriel cooed. She didn’t sound like she was trying to embarrass them, she simply sounded like a mother fawning over her child “It was so sweet and adorable! I told them I was rather flattered they would consider me as such in such short notice!” But then her sweet and motherly facial expression had shifted to that of a sly devil, and you definitely took note of where Frisk had gotten their look from “But Frisk then later calls me to hit on me over the phone, what a  _ fox~ _ !”

 

Sans and Undyne snorted out loudly, Papyrus commenting rather innocently “Ah yes, I always love hearing that story!”

 

“Don’t encourage her~” Frisk pleaded in Sans’ shoulder. Sans commented “Frisk’s always been a weird kink kinda kid apparently—“

 

“Sans I will literally die.” Frisk tried once more. Apparently that was enough for Sans to quietly snort and gently pat the brunette’s head.

 

Toriel eventually waved a free hand to dismiss it all, balancing the probably cooled off pie in her other paw before asking “Anyway~ who wants pie? The other is just about done in the oven if one slice is not enough.”

 

“ **FLOWEY CALLS THE DIBS ON THE BIGGEST PIECE!** ” Papyrus had suddenly shouted with a raise of his arm. The whole room had looked to Papyrus from this proclamation, and Papyrus still continued to raise his voice almost excitedly “HE HAS TOLD ME TO CALL THE DIBS! I have been waiting to say that but did not know the appropriate time considering Flowey’s lover was fooling around with Frisk—“

 

The way that was worded was so embarrassing. You snorted and covered your mouth at this.

 

Flowey gave a cheesy grin that showed all his teeth “I told him to say that and he’s  _ learning _ , isn’t it great?” Just as Papyrus jumped off of the couch and darted towards Toriel. Papyrus and Flowey were apparently getting along quite well, the two of them were smiling and laughing at each other as Toriel wandered her way to a small table at the corner of the finely decorated living room to serve up the pie. It was expected though, even if Flowey had noted Papyrus’ naivety and innocence, Papyrus had been there for him all this time and was apparently head of the  _ Flowey Fanclub _ , something you would need to ask him about joining pretty soon.

 

It was then that everyone else started talking as normal again. In the blink of an eye Frisk had walked passed you and roughly patted your shoulder with a small smile. As if knowing you were in an observant mode, they commented softly “I hope you’re having fun. Don’t think too hard about it, alright? We’re all friends here, and we’ll be friends for a long time.” You gave Frisk a light smile at the remark, though Frisk never pulled their hand away from your shoulder. Frisk’s own smile faltered slightly, before they moved closer and lightly confessed to you “I’m sorry about all this. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to force you into our night sessions of jabbing at each other. Some nights when we get together we wind up joking and pranking one another, and figured we’d try to shove you and Flowey in on the tradition—but maybe it was too soon…”

 

“It’s fine, really.” Your smile only widened at this, tilting your head slightly “I figured it was all for fun anyway.”

 

“Things could have gotten out of hand, but you handled everything well.” Frisk complimented, almost with a nervous laugh as they added “I’m sorry about that. I know some of my comments weren’t in the right and I got carried away. But… if any of us ever make you or Flowey uncomfortable please let me know. I’d do the same to you if it were on my end.”

You gave a little laugh “I think I got you back anyway to make us even. Now I know you were a huge flirt when we were little. I just wish I had been around more to see it.” You playfully nudged Frisk who immediately returned the favor. Eventually it lead to you wanting to hug it out, doing so with a quick wrap of your arms around Frisk in a comforting embrace. Apparently Alphys and Undyne caught sight of this, and went ‘ _ aww~’  _ as you both let each other go. Frisk winked at you before also heading towards the pie, in which you followed with Undyne and Alphys behind.

 

There was a bubbling happiness filling your chest as chatter and commotion filled the room once more. Everyone was lively and calm as they each, and yourself, grabbed for a slice of pie and returned to the sitting area. You and Frisk both shared the floor in front of the couch, and though Flowey was obviously enjoying himself with Papyrus, he quickly found his way back to your shoulder just to place a kiss on your cheek. Frisk snickered at the gesture they witnessed and patted Flowey’s head, and you couldn’t help but give Frisk another light hug in acceptance and gratitude. There was happiness, enjoyment, and love in the air, and it would linger for many years to come.

 

 

And you, my love… are filled with D E T E R M I N A T I O N .


	36. EPILOGUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Happy holidays, and have a great new year. <3

###  **Chapter Thirty-Six:** ** _EPILOGUE_**

“We’re so far away~! Are you sure we should be here~?”

 

The young child was already breathing heavily by the time the two had made it to the rather desolate lot. Though the patch of dirt looked like it would be spacious for cars to park and trekkers to climb, no one ever visited Mt. Ebott. It was dangerous and unstable, as most would say. The mountain was a place where many adventurers and thrill seekers climbed up and never came down. Even though people had requested safety measures to be taken as to try and keep people from wandering around or near the mountain, all that officials had done were post up signs here and there warning person’s not to climb the path up the mountain unless they were deemed as ‘professionals’, but even professionals were given their own signs to be weary of pitfalls or loose rocks.

But the rumors and the stories were too much of a curious magnet for thoughtful minds, especially the minds of young children who wondered if they could ever figure out the mysteries of the mountain. There the two children were, right at the dirt plot that lead towards the path up Mt. Ebott.

They had ran, walked, and explored their way there, far away from the small town that they lived in, both for the sake of adventure. And while the first child was a worrisome one who found themselves more like a follower, the other child was the leader who held enough bravery for the both of them. It had been a couple or more hours ago when they had told their families they would be outside playing, little did either family know that the two would run off miles away to the mountain of doom.

 

“Of course we’re not s’posed to!” The young girl said to the other child, sticking out her tongue as she tiptoed along the start of the path “But we’re explorers! No one’s ever lived to tell the tale of the mountain of doom~! But I know we will!”

 

“Explore everything that’s never been seen.” The child gazed up the towering mountain in awe, but didn’t flutter anywhere near the path like the other child had.

The other was wearing a deep blue ballet uniform, complete with tutu as she danced and pranced about her little section of walkway. The walk to Mt. Ebott took forever, and yet she was still so lively and full of energy. The worry-wart whined as they spotted their best friend dancing her way up the trail “Hey! Get back here, dance queen! We can’t go up there or we’ll get in trouble! You know my parents hate this place…”

 

The girl huffed and stomped her foot, before twirling and looking down to the other child “Your parents hate everything fun.  _ My parents  _ let me do whatever I want.”

 

“No they don’t.” The child snorted, even if they weren’t as forward or brave as their friend, they were still able to call her out when they needed to.

 

Now the dark skinned star-to-be looked rather snobbish from where she stood, somewhat above her friend who looked like they were ready to curl up and shrivel beneath her “Who says anyway that we aren’t allowed here?”

“ _ Everyone! _ ” The child flailed their arms “Everyone says! And I do too! We came to just play, down here where it’s safe in the lot area! Not go up there!” They pulled their arms closer to their chest, looking around as if they were being watched “Uh… what if we get into big trouble? Somebody might be here watching us and waiting for us to do something bad!”

“I need to exercise for my ballet classes!” The girl seemed demanding for a moment, though her tone softened then as she gestured to herself almost delicately “You’d be doin’ it too if you didn’t chicken out n’ skip classes—“

“It hurts to stay on my toes too long!” The child whined like earlier, huffing and quickly sitting themselves onto the dirt. To counteract their best friends rather elegant attire, they themselves wore a pair of worn jeans and an already dirtied red and blue striped shirt; Not to mention their hair was somewhat in a tangled mess about their head. The jog, run, and power walk didn’t help… and was probably the reason the child looked worn out and dirtied up just from the journey to the destination.

 

No matter how much the kid whined and groaned and complained to their best friend, the girl didn’t seem to budge. She seemed rather intent on what she had in mind—which was to begin her climb. “Teacher told me that hiking’s gonna help with my leg strength.” The girl said, already taking a few more steps up the path and now approaching the first and most important warning sign of the mountain: ‘ _ NO HIKING!’ _

 

“This is the best and easiest place to hike, there’s no other spots where we can go.”

The child frowned at their determined friend who was all too eager to begin her walk. The girl did another twirl, but this time stumbled and almost lost her footing, though she had managed to catch herself just barely. The child covered their eyes “People vanish there! Some kids disappeared there too—I really  _ really  _ don’t think we should go!”

 

“Come on, it’ll be quick!” The girl beckoned for her friend to follow, but now the child wasn’t budging from their own seated position on the ground. They instead announced “I’m going home!”

 

“Fine then, we need somebody to tell my parents I’ll be back home by dinner.” She stuck out her tongue and began to climb up anyway. The girl grunted with each step, the simple dirt trail was already steep even at the start of the climb. It didn’t take her long to already reach half way before turning around to look down at her friend, who was still seated but watching with shaken breaths. The child was afraid, not just for themselves, but for whatever could happen to the girl as she climbed and faced unknown danger. The girl noticed this and snickered down at them “It’s  _ just  _ hiking! Why are you so afraid?”

 

“Don’t disappear!” The kid finally lifted up to their feet. The girl blinked down at them, as if not really understanding their demands. But all they did was yell out louder with a quick jump in place “Don’t go to the top! Don’t go too far! You promise to come back down and we’ll hang out after dinner!”

 

“ _ Duh _ I promise!” The girl snorted and laughed, turning back around and returning to her walk up the path “I’ll see you later after dinner! Tell my mom I want peach cobbler!”

 

“Your mom’d kill me if I just show up without you but asking for peach cobbler!” The child laughed back, but it was a nervous one. There was a sinking feeling deep in their gut that told them everything happening was such a bad idea. Something was wrong here—there was something off about letting their friend wander off on her own to climb the treacherous mountain. She was just a kid, she was just a little kid just like them, why on earth were they letting her do this? They stood very still as their laughter subsided, and they fiddled with their fingers as if they had a weird twitch. They kicked at the dirt as they slowly began to back away, second guessing themselves, maybe?

 

But everything was already set in stone.

 

“Gone head and go home! I’ll see you later!” The girl called out again, already climbing her way up. In the back of the worry-wart’s head rested uncertainty, caution, and an undying fear that would nag at them for years to come. From this moment they would lose their best friend—they just knew they would—and yet—

 

“See you soon!” They cried out, as the façade shattered and their world crumbled into darkness.

 

Time stood still even as their friend continued to hurry off into the pitch black void, the visions of watching her tumble to her demise would traumatize the child for years. But the words they had called echoed around them like they were suddenly lost in a cave, the thoughts rang true as their own words reminded them ‘ _ SEE YOU SOON! _ ’

 

And with a light gasp and a soft sniffle, the child wiped their eyes with their dirtied sleeve. It had grown darker out by then, the late afternoon had turned to evening as they had stood there. Instead of going home, they had waited at the base of the mountain for their friends return. Their very best friend, and the only friend they would have for a very long time.

 

Their eyes filled with tears over and over as they continuously wiped them away with their sleeves, but even in the midst of the horrors that were to come, they couldn’t help but smile.

 

“I’ll see you later!” They repeated out with a shout and a grin, as tears clouded their vision. Hours after the girl had climbed up, many hours since she had promised to come back down.

 

But the child pushed on “See you soon!”

 

Because you knew you would see me again.

# P  L  A  Y GROUND

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Thank you for reading PLAYGROUND. Thank you so much. <3  
> > With this I complete my new year's resolution of 2017, to finish PLAYGROUND within the year, thus also completing my very first fanfiction. <3
> 
> > Q & A's are still open on my blog **[here!](http://straightooc.tumblr.com)** Feel free to ask me anything about this fanfic or my Undertale headcanon's (or even about myself)! I'm open to any and all questions, and have already answered a few! Here is where also unpublished endings will be posted eventually because I worked too hard on them to ditch them XD
> 
> > EDIT:: Deadline is still 1/31/18 11:59PM CST! Last calls! **["Draw Newspaper!"](http://straightooc.tumblr.com/post/170280259651/draw-newspaper-contest)** With the first prize being a **free one shot fanfic from yours truly!** Click the link and spread the word if possible--
> 
> > And after all that advertisement, thanks so much again for the read and awesome comments! I love and appreciate the support and enjoyment I was able to bestow unto all of ya'll! Catch me around and about! <3 I'm always lurking AO3 and Tumblr~


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